Society of the Vesta Accolates
by mandymld
Summary: Narcissa M wants to join a magical high society league, to do so she is assigned 3 labors dealing with the Hearth, Home & Family as well as an apprentice, Hermione who wants to rescue Harry & free Sirius. Lucius just wants to support his wife, Draco wants to run away from home and Dumbledore, well he just wants his headache to go away. AD/MW bashed a pinch. Summer after POA.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As some of you may have noticed this is my second HP story. I was working on the One Appointment we all Must keep with a young woman who used to babsit my daughters, but she has had some severe medical issues that took her out of state. This week she was informed that she would be able to return home from the Cleveland Clinic around March after her treatments end. So to get back into the swing of things writing wise and because I had to swear on her stack of HP books that I wouldn't post updates to that story until she returned, I decided to do a slightly shorter one. **

Oh, and for those waiting, I have four chapters already written for One Appointment. I am just waiting on Tara to read before posting.

On to the Story

Society of the Vesta Accolates

Prologue

June 27th

Narcissa Malfoy was eating breakfast with her husband when saw the rather large owl flying in through the open French doors and landing in front of her at the breakfast table. She gently reached over to remove the letter before watching it fly off rather curious how it had gotten through their tight wards.

Breaking the dark purple outer seal she didn't recognize, she opened the letter and gasped in shock at what it contained inside. Her hand at her chest, barely believing what she was reading, she felt tears coming to the corner of her eyes.

"My dear, is something wrong?" She rather felt than saw Lucius stand and walk her way from the other end of the family breakfast table. When she didn't answer, he moved to kneel next to her. "Cissa?"

She smiled through her tears and handed him the small dove gray invitation with the dark purple script and a second inner seal also dark gray but with two wolf cubs on it.

Lucius read what it said out loud. "Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, we, the Accolades of the Vesta invite you to interview as a possible captio. If you wish to accede to this request place your right hand on the seal at the bottom of this missive and your name will be entered into the rolls."

Lucius dropped the small card and looked at his wife, awestruck at the idea of her finally achieving her lifelong dream to follow in her Grandmother's societal path. The Black family had been black balled after her aunt and mother had been kicked out of the membership in spite of having been legacy members for following the beliefs of the dark lord. None of the younger generation had even been invited to interview, including Narcissa's disowned sister Andromeda.

Narcissa had longed for years to join but they had believed that the Black family name, having Bellatrix for a sister and Sirius for a cousin as well as Lucius' own notoriety had ruined any chance of her being asked to join let alone passing the required interview.

With shaking hands, she lifted the card and placed her right hand on the seal. The dark gray wax glowed for a moment and then more dark purple words appeared informing her of the time of the meeting and that the card would act as a portkey to take her to secret location.

Narcissa read the card and then gently placed it on the table before reaching out to her husband and in spite of his still kneeling next to her, threw herself into his arms. When her trembling stopped, she tilted her head so that she could look into his eyes. He leaned down to press a quick kiss to her lips before swearing he would always think before acting so that she could retain the honor she do desperately wanted in honor of the woman who had helped him protect Narcissa.

Two days later after a trip that morning to purchase what she needed, Narcissa dressed in a rather plain gown descended the staircase to join her husband in his study wearing her hair in the requisite braids. She saw her son was sitting in a nearby chair, pouting as he reread his transfiguration textbook. Lucius had been less than pleased by Draco's grades and as punishment was requiring him to redo each assignment from the school year.

"Narcissa, you look lovely." Lucius said and he heard his son scoff as he took in the A-line soft gray linen dress that came to her knees and the soft leather flats she had on her feet that were a requirement of the upcoming interview. Her only decorative piece was the necklace she had inherited from her maternal grandmother, which was the symbol of Demeter, the lead demi god of the Vesta order.

"Thank you." She replied before taking a deep breath and reaching out for the card portkey. Softly saying portis, she felt the familiar tug at her stomach and was swiftly brought to a large room with no windows.

Looking around, rather curious about what it would look like after being told by her grandmother many, many years ago that no one was allowed to inform those not initiate what the room look like, she saw to her surprise the extensive white and dark gray marble with white veins throughout the room, the ebony wood flooring and at the center of the room, a large round table with no chairs but an eternal flame in a center pit.

"Narcissa Black Malfoy, please be seated." A chair appeared and Narcissa did as requested and felt her heart sink at the cold tone of the voice. "You are here to be judged as a potential member of the Vesta. Only truth shall be spoken in this room. Place your wand on the table in front of you."

Narcissa felt her hands shaking as she obeyed the order. Sitting back, she heard the voice chanting and a soft mist surround her before the questioning began.

Twelve questions later, Narcissa was told she could pick up her wand and to use the portkey to return to her home. Stumbling a bit as she returned to the study, she saw Lucius was pacing back and forth while Draco was staring out the window clearly bored.

Her husband spun around when he felt her presence and reached out to steady her before he looked into her eyes and saw her blank expression. Pulling her close, he was vowing to fix this no matter what when she quietly said "I am on probation as an initiate but I made it."

Lucius tightened his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. They were always politely distant in front of others including their own son, but he couldn't resist softly telling her that he loved her.

Draco just shrugged and said with a sneer "What right does anyone have to put a Malfoy on probation? They should be honored you even want to join their paltry little club."

Lucius had explained over and over again to their son about the honor of being a Vesta for his mother to her son but Draco's arrogance or maybe lack of understanding had made this a daunting task.

Narcissa looked at her son and said "Lucius, I think that it is time to explain to our son exactly how the hierarchy of society works, not just pureblood society before he is a public embarrassment to us."

"I will add that to his summer lessons." Lucius stated glaring at his son who hadn't even congratulated his mother on her achievement. "Lets have dinner at Samuel's in celebration, my dear."

"I think that I should inform you about my first assignment as an initiate first." Narcissa said before suggesting that Draco go upstairs and change into dress robes. Once their son was gone, the witch looked at her husband and placed a silencing charm on the study doors.

"My dear?" He asked looking at the doors.

"Hearth, Home and Family." She said with a bit of a grimace as she stated the Vesta motto. "I have to prove that I am capable of cooking a dinner without help and hosting a dinner party for the doubtful. I have been also been assigned an apprentice my dear."

"I don't understand." He said leaning against his desk. "Why would you need to prove something like that?"

"It's a normal initiation. I was provided with a pensive memory of my grandmother Hestia's and it is rather simple." She answered smiling in spite of her own acknowledgement of her lack of cooking skills. "It's the apprentice that might be at issue."

Groaning, he began to understand. "Vesta treats all witches as equals. An apprentice is a totem, am I right? Proof that you honor this."

"My opposite who I am to mentor into the ways even as I am learning them." Narcissa admitted. "Vesta looks for potential young witches that will be future leaders in our society. Bright young women."

Lucius looked at his wife and said "Please tell me it's not the Weasley girl. I know that their family have been initiates in the past."

"Thankfully no. Muriel Prewett is of course a member of the Vesta if not on the council but no, it isn't the Weasley girl. I have been assigned a mudbl-er muggleborn, Lucius." Narcissa answered working on changing her own prejudices like she had been ordered to after her second question that day. "With our history, I should have expected it."

Lucius mentally went through the list of possible third or second year students and wincing realized who the Vesta would consider that was a muggleborn and said "Potter's friend. The girl Severus calls a know it all."

"Hermione Granger." Narcissa confirmed. "She was nominated by several different Vesta accolates. Of the nine remaining accolates while they wait to elect a replacement for Giselda Marchbanks sister, she was nominated by five of them."

Lucius thought of the current Vestas and recited "McGonagall is a given, Longbottom most likely after that visit in Diagon Alley, who else?"

"Bones, her niece Susan speaks very well of Ms. Granger." Narcissa said. "Marchbanks herself, and Madam Pomfrey's aunt Boudica Pomfrey."

"Boudica is a pureblood like us. Strange that she would recommend a mudblood." Lucius replied wearing a frown. He didn't like it when he couldn't understand the motives behind someone's actions and here was a question he would have to be careful in looking for the answers to.

"I believed so at first, but when she was speaking to me, something she said has me wondering about Ms. Granger's bloodlines. Either way, I am afraid that we will have to change the wording my dear." She gently chided. "It is not the way things are done."

Not happy at all, Lucius kept frowning as Narcissa continued to speak about her initiation assignment. "The home requirement was rather strange as well."

"Besides being assigned a mudb-" He saw her glare and altered his sentence to muggleborn witch.

"Yes, I was given the key to my aunt's place at Grimmauld place. I had believed that it was under funeral seal after my aunt's death. It is to be my project to return it to a livable home to prove my affinity to home. I was given a rather extensive set of funds and a set of rules including that you are not to cross the threshold without permission of the council." She said and saw him wince.

"And family? Is that the third part?" He inquired and saw her uneasy expression. Worried that it might involve the Blacks, knowing that other than her sisters his wife despised them all, he said "Narcissa what is it."

Resizing the folder in her pocket, she silently handed it over to him. "This part I am allowed to request your help with."

Lucius looked at the files, there were no names but what was inside had him raging in anger. "According to this there are wizards and witches aware of what is being done to this boy. Why hasn't it been stopped?"

Narcissa said "What is worse is that this boy is related to us or rather the Blacks by blood. Besides having to prove that my own family is worthy, my assignment is to rescue this boy by the end of July from this nightmare he has been living in."

"That shouldn't be that hard, after all with my ministry contacts and our wealth, we should be able to gain custody once we prove the abuse." Lucius said as he closed the folder sure of his own abilities. He was less sure of who the child was knowing that the Black family had illegimate offspring in both the magical and muggle world thanks to their rather nasty habit of not using contraceptive charms while sleeping with their eclectic choice of mistresses. "We just ask Severus to use veritiaserum and have the guardians admit it themselves as well as those assigned to protect this child."

"I wish it were that simple, my dear." She said as she took the folder he offered back and then pulled out the picture she had been given. "If it were any other child, I would have no doubt as to our abilities to gain custody and protect this boy."

Lucius was a bit offended at his wife's lack of belief in his abilities until something tingled at the back of his brain and he looked at the writing on the back of the picture and began to swear. "Not possible, there is no way that that boy is being abused. There are too many protections in place and we both know... no, Narcissa I am rather sure that they are wrong."

With that, Narcissa turned over the magical photo and staring up at Lucius and wearing a sneer very similar to the one he himself was wearing was a thirteen year old boy with messy black hair and emerald green eyes behind a pair of round black glasses. "I wish they were. That file is about one Harry James Potter. The person who keeps sending him back to his abusive family is his Headmaster who knows about every single incident of abuse. It was confirmed by a Vesta adviser who verbally assaulted Minerva McGonagall during our meeting."

"So let me see if I understand this." Lucius said trying to control his temper, desperately reminding himself how important this was to his wife. "First you have been assigned a muggleborn apprentice, Hermione Granger who less than a month ago broke our son's nose and gave him a black eye. Second, you have to go to the very house where I rescued you from almost sixteen years ago and turn that nightmare into a home and finally, you have to by some miracle gain custody of Harry Potter a boy who hates our son, hates me and thinks that the sun rises on the orders of the very person who forces him to live in an abused home.

"I have never doubted your ability to comprehend difficult subjects my dear and you are quite correct in your ruminations." she said trying to lighten the tone.

Lucius looked at his wife, thought about how important this was to her and swore silently as he thought about how difficult his life was about to become over the next thirty two days. "July 31st is the deadline, correct?"

"Yes." she answered and she saw the resolute expression on his face and said "Thank you, Lucius."

With a soft chuckle, the man pulled his wife into his arms and said "Just so that you know, on August 1st, when this is complete, you and I are locking ourselves away in our bedroom for the whole week."

Narcissa blushed at what he was suggesting Lucius couldn't help laughing yet again at how his wife in spite of sixteen years of marriage still reacted that way even as he leaned down to kiss her.

Pulling back so that his head rested on top of hers, he muttered "Merlin, someone up there has a strange sense of karma. Us, adopting Harry Potter. The boy is not going to be happy. Neither of them are."

Narcissa kept quiet as she had one secret that she couldn't tell her husband, about the visitation she had had during her last question and the promise she had made to the young woman who had appeared. Lily Potter had been a few years younger than she at Hogwarts, but she had known the fiery red head due to her friendship with Severus Snape.

Lily's words had sent a chill down Narcissa's spine as she began to wonder just how one went about catching a rat mascaraing as a rodent. Her view of the future wasn't one that Narcissa wanted to happen and she would do everything in her power to prevent it. Even if it meant taking on Dumbledore and Voldemort's wraith herself.

TBC


	2. You Still Had Your Boots On

Chapter One

June 12th

Fourteen year old Hermione Granger wiped away her tears and went to her appointment with her Head of House, Professor McGonagall. She was outside the woman's door when she heard the soft voice of Professor Lupin and as she began to understand the words he was speaking, she felt her anger grow.

At the end of her first year at Hogwarts she had been questioning but had in the end believed that authority figures might know best. At the end of her second year, she had doubts but had conceded to Ron's supposed knowledge of the magical world he had grown up in.

This year, a year filled with more and more proof that the adult in this world were either criminally negligent or willfully ignorant had driven her to do what she did best. Research the answers to her many many questions in books. While the library had only a spattering of the answers she needed, Hermione had been rather surprised to find out that there was a magical library in Diagon Alley.

When she heard Professor Lupin telling Professor McGonagall that he was heading to Hogsmead, she stepped up and knocked on the door.

"That must be Ms. Granger, she requested a quick meeting." Hermione heard the older witch telling her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "Please enter."

Hermione did so and quickly greeted both professors. "Professor McGonagall, Professor Lupin. Do you want me to come back later?"

"No, I was just heading out." Remus announced and Hermione saw the sad expression on his face and impulsively did something that shocked all three of them.

She stepped over and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged the man. She felt him tense up and quietly whispered "Please, please don't forget to stay in touch with Harry. He needs all the contact he can get with his parents old friends."

"Ms. Granger, this isn't appropriate." A shocked Minerva McGonagall announced as she glared at the young witch.

Hermione released her professor and nodded saying "I know that but for once I don't care. You were a great teacher, Professor Lupin."

With that, an embarrassed but touched Remus Lupin ducked out the still open door and Hermione heard it closing before she turned to her Head of House. "I am not sorry for hugging him. I only did what Harry would if he hadn't been so convinced by those muggles who raised him that human contact of any form was wrong."

"It is still improper young lady." She was told.

Hermione couldn't help thinking that there were a heck of a lot more improper things going on at Hogwarts than simply hugging a well liked and kind teacher so she just ignored the statement and sat down in the chair across from McGonagall. "Professor, I have decided to drop Muggle Studies. It is over fifty years out of date and frankly, I already had muggle history classes at my primary school. With dropping Divination, I have come to the conclusion that I must turn in my time turner."

With that, she removed the silver device and handed it over to Professor McGonagall who had a slight frown on her face even as she accepted the necklace. "Ms. Granger what do you mean that the class is fifty years out of date? I will have you know that it was considered too radical and derided as fantastical when it was instituted by Albus when he became Headmaster."

"Professor according to Hogwarts a History he was appointed Headmaster fifty years ago. Muggle life has changed a lot in the last fifty years yet the class hasn't been changed to reflect that." Hermione earnestly stated. Standing, she asked to be dismissed knowing that nothing she said would change things.

"Yes, of course." With that Hermione left, unaware of the thoughtful expression on Minerva McGonagall's face. Returning to her dorm to finish packing, Hermione listened to the excitement of her fellow dorm mates and Ginny Weasley who had come to speak to her regarding their summer plans and she couldn't help feeling angry with the entire adult muggle world at their obviousness. 

June 12th later that evening

Harry was not happy to be locked into his bedroom but after he had reminded the Dursleys about his escaped murdered of a godfather and how he might decide to pay him a visit, they had left him alone. He had been shocked when his aunt had unlocked the door later that night and insisted he fix himself something for dinner. Being told to cook himself a piece of chicken, a baked potato and ordered to eat the broccoli that Dudley had refused to even place on his plate, Harry finished his meal and was ordered back to his room.

"Stay there boy, unless you are using the bathroom we don't want you to exit that room. That damn ruddy bird can fly but only at night and I don't want to hear a single complaint from the neighbors about it." His uncle snapped.

So Harry had returned to his room and had sat back on his bed and grinned. He had his trunk in his bedroom. It was a tight fit but that was fine because it meant he would be able to do his homework early. Thinking on his homework had him thinking about Hermione and he decided that he would send her out a letter the very next evening. He would have sent Ron one but Mrs. Weasley had been rather unhappy with Ron and the twins as they had gotten off the train so he was going to wait a few days for the woman to calm down.

Going to his trunk, Harry randomly pulled out a book and got comfortable as he could and began to read. A bit bored but knowing this was all his entertainment for the summer, Harry began to reread his History of Magic textbook. At the end of the chapter, he found that he knew the answers to the questions it posed and with a slight grin at being correct, moved on to the second chapter which dealt with the development of the Ministry of Magic.

June 14th

Two days later after arriving home, Hermione was thanking her parents as they entered the Leaky Cauldron. Her father ordered them two butter beers on her recommendation while her mother reminded her that she only had two hours in this library.

Hermione nodded and once through the passageway rushed to the other end of the alley and into the rather large building. She huffed and puffed when she was directed to the top floor for the first set of books she was looking for.

Returning to the lower level to search for the government and deportment books she needed, she growled in anger when she saw the sign thanking the Malfoy family for the huge donation of books and galleons to build the addition. Returning to the front counter, she was given her new magical library lending card and told that when the two weeks were up the books would just magically be returned to the library.

The witch working the counter handed her the new library bottomless bookbag that automatically lightened the weight of books and handed it to Hermione. She thanked her and was walking at a more sedate pace to the Leaky Cauldron rather pleased with herself for getting her errand done in twenty minutes.

She was passing the apothecary when she heard her name being called from the doorway. She saw Neville Longbottom standing there with a woman wearing the exact same outfit that they had seen on Professor Snape during the boggart lesson and it took all of her control not to giggle as she greeted her classmate.

"Grandmother, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione this is my Grandmother, Augusta Longbottom." Neville said formally.

"Ms. Granger, your name and young Mr. Potter's comes up frequently in my grandson's letters. It is a pleasure to meet you." The woman replied with a smile on face as she held out her hand to shake Hermione's.

"It's an honor to meet you." Hermione replied unaware that they had gained an audience in the tall blond couple who were exiting a nearby bistro. "Neville has told us a great deal about you."

"Hermione, is everything okay?" Neville asked. Seeing her confusion, he asked "Well we only got home the day before yesterday."

"Oh, you mean why am I in Diagon Alley?" She asked then with a smirk said "Well where else would a book worm be then searching for a library? I was going through withdrawal."

"With what?" Neville inquired looking confused.

With a laugh, Hermione said "It's a joke but it means that I was missing my books. In truth, I was doing some research into arthimacy and some other magical topics for which Hogwarts doesn't have a real complete selection on so I came to visit the magical lending library. It's my summer project."

"Oh, I understand doing that. I am working on supervising the house elves in my family greenhouse. We only really use it for herbs but I want to venture into some of the flowering plants and these great muggle plants that I heard about that have magical uses called cactuseses."

"You mean cacti." Hermione said eagerly and willing to explain about muggle things to her pureblood friend who always listened patiently when she did so. "Wait, really?"

"Yes." Neville said. "My uncle is planning on taking me to purchase some plants for my birthday."

"You seem to have an interest in these uh, cacti, Ms. Granger." Augusta Longbottom said with a kind smile on her face. This Hermione was not a beauty yet but it was clear that that would change as she grew into her own looks and Augusta was very happy that Neville seemed very comfortable around her.

"No, not me. Neville can tell you, Herbology is one of the few classes that I don't quite get in the practical sense. My mom however, well she loves plants. Anyhow, Neville, you should talk to her. She is upgrading our small conservatory and due to Crookshanks she wants to get rid of her cacti garden. The Smithfield Botanical Gardens approached her about them but she isn't too fond of the woman in charge of it."

"What is a Crookshanks?" Mrs. Longbottom asked.

"My cat, he's half kneazle and all trouble but Mom adores him so if the choice is the plants or my cat who is only there two months of the year, my cat wins. I think she is hoping I will decide I want an owl this upcoming year so that she can keep Crookshanks at home." Hermione said with a wry grin.

"Have you told her that Harry let's you borrow Hedwig whenever you want so that isn't likely." Neville said with a laugh.

"No, but it might be a moot point." Hermione said with a sigh. Looking around, she saw the back of the tall woman but never noticed the man behind her as she leaned in and said "Crookshanks was uh, spending a lot of time with Millicent Bullstrode's cat at Hogwarts. I heard Millicent telling Daphne Greengrass in Runes that her cat is pregnant. I think Crookshanks overcame the chastity barrier at Hogwarts."

Both of them blushed and Mrs. Longbottom chuckled as she understood the issue. "Have you spoken to Ms. Bullstrode yet, Ms. Granger?"

"Yes. If the kittens are partly kneazle, she is going to contact me. The thing is, it turns our Mrs. Norris, Mr. Filch's cat should be called Mr. Norris because he is a possible father." Hermione admitted with a laugh. To her shock, Millicent had been relieved to find out who the potential sire of her cat's kittens and had even been relatively friendly with Hermione as she promised to contact her if the cats looked like the half kneazle.

Hermione looked at her watch and then said "Oh dear, I have to get going. My parents only allotted me two hours to do what I needed and I still have to pick up some parchment for my summer homework."

"We will walk you down that way, Ms. Granger." Mrs. Longbottom announced as they strolled towards the stationary store and the couple exiting the bistro separated. The wife towards the millinery and the husband towards the magical library rather curious to know what the mudblood had borrowed.

As Hermione and her parents exited the Leaky Cauldron an hour later, her mother was speaking rather eagerly about guiding young Mr. Longbottom in his interest in cacti while her father had been rather pleased by the young man's grandmother's explanation of certain parts of the magical world.

Oh, they had met the Weasleys but Arthur Weasley hadn't been able to answer their questions in a coherent manner. This elderly woman had done so in spite of his initial uh, rejection of her wearing a vulture on her rather enormous hat.

June 25th

Neville was standing nervously beside Hermione as they waited for her mother to join them in the conservatory. It was his first time in a muggle home and he didn't want to do anything wrong in spite of Hermione's assurances that he would be fine.

Her mother joined them and after requesting that Neville call her Jean, they quickly went to work as she taught him about the various muggle plants she grew in her garden while Hermione went to curl up on a nearby rattan sofa.

He had been amazed at her summer reading list which had included books about the Ministry and it's various branches as well as books about how things differed between the two world. Once they had been finished and Hermione's mother had offered to send him grafts of her various dwarf fruit trees, Neville saw a large snowy owl flying in through the sun roof and landing directly in front of Hermione.

"Hello Hedwig." Hermione said as she removed the attached letter and took out an owl treat from her pocket. The bird bowed its head after taking the treat and flew off to the nearby elm tree to await her answer.

Neville saw the way that Mrs, er rather Dr Granger seemed entranced and heard her calling for her husband. "Dear, that beautiful owl returned."

Hermione's dad entered the room and saw his wife point out the glass wall towards their favorite shade tree. Neville was amused to find out that it wasn't only Crookshanks that they coveted but Harry's owl too.

"Neville, are all animals in your world as beautiful." Dr. Granger asked.

"Not quite, I mean, at least not..." Neville regrouped while Hermione read her letter. "There are some that are more magnificent, more beautiful because of their innate power. Unicorns of course are beautiful but Hippogrifs while magnificent are rather deadly and the same thing with dragons and thestals."

"Hermione did happen to mention that dragons are real." Her father said in a dry tone that had Neville remembering how Hermione knew that fact.

Wincing he quickly stated "I like the guard peacocks that I saw at a magical zoo once when we were in Greece but the only ones here in England belong to the Malfoys. They are really rare and Mr. Malfoy is well known for refusing to breed them. He even got called into court over it because he has a very rare set and the government wanted some."

Hermione who had finished her letter, couldn't help giggling. Seeing her parents looking her way and Neville's own wry expression she said "It's just, well Draco kind of reminds me of a peacock."

Neville snorted as he tried not to laugh but he ended up holding his stomach as he lost it while telling Hermione "M-mr Malfoy's b-birds a-are a-alb-albi-albino p-p-peacocks."

Hermione stared at Neville certain he was joking but then their eyes met and she fell over as it hit her why he was laughing. The two teenagers were laughing so hard their stomachs ached so they missed the sound of someone knocking on the door but a confused Dr. Granger went to answer it.

Greeting Augusta Longbottom, he informed her that they were in the conservatory and led the way there. Seeing her surprise at the state she found her grandson, he said "They were discussing a Mr. Malfoy's peacocks and for some reason the fact that they are albino peacocks sent them into hysterics."

A small smile graced her lips before she regained control then Augusta answered "They aren't the first. Let's just say that the Malfoy family's peacocks resemble them a bit."

Augusta asked to speak to Jean for a moment and when they were in the small den, she handed Hermione's mother the small envelope. "Has your daughter mentioned that there are still some very dark prejudices in our world against muggleborn witches and wizards?"

Nodding, Jean somberly stated "My husband I tried to talk her out of returning to Hogwarts after finding out about this issue. I was very unhappy that the witch who came to speak to us about our daughter attending Hogwarts didn't inform us of that fact."

"Minerva McGonagall means well but she does have a tendency to ignore it, she wants to believe that it has ended. It has to a certain extend, the laws have changed and there is legal equality for all witches and wizards. However while laws change, what is in the hearts of those who make the law often doesn't change as quickly." Augusta said. "Even some who would say that they are all for equality like Albus Dumbledore have blind spots. The reason I am mentioning it is that I am a member of a group that is involved in guiding and mentoring bright young witches."

"Something like the Junior League?" Jean inquired and seeing the other woman's confusion she explained what being member meant.

"Yes and no." Augusta answered. "We are called the Society of Vesta. It's partly a support of the old wiccan magical ways and partly a network of witches who work to better our world. We are from all stratas of society. We had our annual meeting the day I met your daughter in Diagon Alley. There is a council of ten witches who decide what our program for the upcoming year will be."

"Before we continue, would you like a cup of tea?" Jean asked as she watched out the window. Her husband and the two teenagers were outside as Hermione demonstrated her bicycle for young Neville while the owl flew off she would guess to its owner carrying a letter from her daughter.

"No thank you. I have spent the entire afternoon drinking tea as we sorted through the acceptance notes of the various levels of initiates." Augusta said and with a wink suggested something a bit stronger.

Jean poured them each a dram of whiskey and they were soon seated in front of the window watching the trio outside.

"Now, I will try to explain why I am telling you about our society." Augusta said. "The ten witches are lifetime appointments to the council but another twenty five witches are members. If you dishonor your vow in any way you are magically removed. Members are not on the council. We choose council members from outside the membership and the potential captio is assigned a witch apprentice. These are chosen from Hogwarts second and third year students. Basically twelve and thirteen year old witches."

"You want Hermione to be an apprentice?" Jean asked.

"It's a bit more than just my nomination. Each member of the council is allowed to recommend only one witch per year. You must receive at least two recommendations and if no witch receives two, we don't choose apprentices that year." Augusta stated.

Seeing Jean understood, Augusta continued to speak. "This year we have two potential captio members. One will be chosen. To be the chosen one, you must honor your Hearth, your Home and your Family. Both potential captio have weaknesses. They are assigned their apprentices based on those weaknesses."

"Your daughter has a connection to both families. One is through her friendship with Mr. Weasley and the other is slightly different." Auguata replied feeling a bit awkward as she tried to explain. "The second potential captio is a pureblood witch whose family is rather dark. She however while a bit arrogant is the choice of many of our council. What she is unaware of that her own grandmother nominated her for membership on the council when she was your daughter's age."

"Should you be telling me this?" Jean asked biting her lip.

"Normally no." Augusta stated. "This is anything but ordinary however. This young woman's family was blackballed fifteen years ago at the request of her own grandmother after her family tried to perform a dark ritual using her. It was a blood ritual requiring virgin blood."

She saw Jean Granger turn green and reached out to pat the woman's arm. "These is nothing to worry about regarding Hermione. I promise. The Black family were desperate because the patriarch of the family had died and had left the entire estate to their black sheep of a son. A black sheep who believed in equality and who had turned his back on the family. It's a long story and I am sure that the true story of Sirius is something your daughter knows a bit about, at least according to Minerva McGonagall who told the council the truth this week. Either way, this young witch was to be used in a dark ritual to turn the heir dark but it would have killed her."

"My god." Jean's appalled statement had Augusta nodding grimly.

"Hestia Black wanted to save her granddaughter and knew of a young wizard. The very arrogant and rich wizard was in love with her niece and he had a betrothal contract with the family. Thank Merlin or this young woman would most likely be dead." Augusta said with a dark sigh. "Hestia contacted him, she didn't tell him the entire story just that there was to be a ritual that would kill his betrothed. He in his arrogance saved her. I won't tell you that part of the story because that is their personal business but he did save her. The Black family however poisoned Hestia for interfering."

Augusta continued "The young woman and man married and their son attends Hogwarts with your daughter. They are far from perfect and in truth are part of that particular pureblood sect that are openly disdainful of muggleborn witches. However, I would be willing to bet that none of them have ever spent any time with a muggle and I intend to change that."

"I don't want my daughter around anyone like that." Jean protested.

"Yet you let her stay at the Weasley home." Augusta quietly stated. Seeing the woman's eyes narrow, she said "Even the Weasleys in spite of their label as blood traitors have issues with muggles. Oh, it's more covert but it does exist. My grandson has repeated certain statements that the younger Weasley children have told him and while I am sure that is unconscious behavior, they do have a sense of superiority over muggles."

Jean reluctantly said "I have read between the lines of my daughter's letters and wondered a few times about things like that."

"I find the muggle world a bit scary myself but I am set in my ways at my age. However, I want better for my grandson. My son and daughter made a point of spending at least one night in the muggle world before the war took them from us." Augusta said sadly.

"What does any of this have to do with Hermione?" Jean asked.

"Your daughter had an end of the year interview with her Head of House that got the woman thinking for a change. Add that to the situation with Sirius Black and a rather interesting tale regarding a hippogrif named Buckbeak and I think she is the perfect witch to convince a set of pureblood bigots that they are wrong."

When Jean started to protest, Augusta said "Then there is the issue of poor Mr. Potter."

"Hermione's friend, Harry?" Jean asked.

"We were informed during a round table meeting with our advisers this week that the Headmaster has stepped over the line of his authority and left young Harry in an abusive situation. One that no one but your daughter has tried to fix. She was thwarted by the Headmaster yet again last week but the letter she sent to the proper authorities reached someone who wasn't happy. They have decided to step in and are using that same pureblood couple to do so because they are the only family with the blood lines to be able to interfere and not because they purebloods but because they are distantly related to the boy through the Black blood lines."

"This boy is a Black?" Jean asked frowning.

"All pureblood magical lines are related in some convoluted manner or another. Young Harry's grandmother was the cousin of my late friend Hestia. Even more complicated is that young Harry's godfather is his blood godfather which means that Black blood was spilled to protect him. So this couple and their son are the only three that can protect the boy in our world. At issue is that the boys are constantly battling and that the father lost one of his house elves to young Mr. Potter."

Augusta left out Lucius Malfoy's political leaning, she was sure that when he finally found out who was behind the ritual that almost killed his future wife he would want to destroy Bellatrix Black and his former and possibly future master himself.

"Are you sure it would be safe for the boy to be related to them?" Jean asked.

"Yes and that is why tomorrow, if young Narcissa succeeds in her interview she will be assigned Hermione as her apprentice if you agree. To not only give your daughter the support of myself and the Vesta accolates but according to our seer, if this is done, your daughter will one day be the Minister of Magic in our world."

"WHAT? How?" Jean asked shocked at what she was being told.

"Our seer, she saw your daughter befriending a Malfoy and peace being achieved. That she would help guide our world into the new century and beyond with Mr. Potter standing as her partner." Augusta said. "There is a prophecy that says only when light and dark stand together, when Black meets White will peace, knowledge and equality be achieved."

"White?" Jean turned pale and said "My maiden name..."

"Is white?" Augusta said with a knowing nod. "We know. Your family line contains several squibs going back at least ten generations, Dr. Granger. When I nominated your daughter in our meeting, her name was announced not twice which is the requirement but of the nine living accolates on the council, she was nominated five times. It has been years, since the time of Rowena Ravenclaw herself that this happened."

Knowing that Jean didn't understand the honor, Augusta just continued to tell her the rest. "While Minerva McGonagall wanted her paired with Molly Weasley the other initiate if she passes, I feel that Hermione would be much better served by apprenticing with the Malfoy family."

"My first instinct is to tell you no, that this is too much pressure to place on a fourteen year old girl but my daughter over the last few years has matured far beyond what I ever expected." Jean replied. "I will leave it up to Hermione and I am sure her father would agree.

Augusta nodded and said "Great. I will put her name down. If Narcissa passes her interview I will nominate Hermione to the position as apprentice. At which point, Narcissa and she will have a meeting. You should know, we will have to put your fireplace on the floo network so that she may travel between the two homes. I will also be giving her a note to allow her to perform underage magic"

"So we would be able to see what she is learning?" Jean asked delighted by that idea.

"She will only be able to perform magic here or at Malfoy manner and no one outside of the magical world or yourselves will be able to see her do magic, but yes." Augusta said as they stood to go join those outside. She could see Neville was slowly mastering the bicycle and she was considering purchasing one of those muggle devices if he wanted. 

June 28th Malfoy manor.

Lucius was growing frustrated with his son as he ordered him to bring his transfiguration textbook down to his study. Once there he ordered Draco to read and be prepared to answer his questions by the end of the chapter.

Sitting at his desk he looked over the reports he had from his various division heads. Malfoy Industries was doing well but they had not had an innovative product released in several years and he wasn't happy with the way that all of his Department Heads seemed to consider the status quo acceptable.

Putting the reports to the side, he saw the list of books and frowned trying to recall why he had them. Hearing his wife entering the study, he looked up to see she was holding a book. "Narcissa?"

She smiled at her husband and son before telling him. "I was reading up on the Interview from what little is known and I realized that I have to head to Madam Malkins to pick up a pair of shoes before my interview today. I ordered Tiki to bring you lunch at noon. Draco, when I passed by the doorway to your room, I saw that you hadn't obeyed my request to pick it up yourself. You are being punished and I told you not to have the house elves do it. So I am adding another week to your punishment."

With that, she left and Lucius looked over at his son, shaking his head in annoyance. Draco was intelligent but he was lazy and Lucius was not happy at his continued disregard for proper manners nor for how he hid behind his name instead of standing on his own two feet.

The incident with the hippogrif and the Granger girl were just two examples. He had only been so intend on dealing with the stupid creature because of how his son had ran his mouth off. Otherwise, he would have let it stand because he had seen his son's memory of the incident and it had infuriated him at his stupidity. If Draco hadn't taken the class to get over his irrational fear of various creatures over his objection, Lucius would have been furious with his son. Instead he had been proud of him for facing his fears head on.

Why on earth that old fool Dumbledore had placed his idiotic Keeper of Keys as a teacher had been allowed he still didn't understand. The requirements of teachers having at least a NEWT in the course they taught were still in place and the man had blithely ignored them like he did anything he wanted to.

Then there was the fight with the Granger girl, his son had been blindingly angry after being beaten up by a mudblood. Lucius was angrier that he had been beaten up with simple fisticuffs by a girl. Still at least, Draco had had the sense not to attempt to hit the annoying mudblood girl.

If he had done that, Lucius would have spanked his bottom until he couldn't sit down. He had taught his son that hitting females was wrong, no matter their status. Still, lately it seemed as if Draco was deliberately doing anything and everything to challenge his parent's authority.

Hearing Draco letting out a loud sigh as he finally turned the page in his textbook, Lucius looked at son and saw he was staring out the window at the Quidditch pitch. Ignoring it, Lucius returned to the list in front of him from the library and it came to him.

This was the list of books that that mudblood girl had removed. He had been rather curious because of her comment about the inadequacy of the Hogwarts library. It had been a regular complaint while he had been on the Board of Governors. He had been rather curious because he had found that several books on the list of ones that the students wanted purchased were books that he knew had been in the library during his own years at Hogwarts making him very curious as to why they weren't available any longer.

Still, finding out she was reading books regarding the ministry, the divisions of government and their responsibility including St. Mungos and Hogwarts had him curious because all of these books were supposed to be in the Hogwarts library at least when he had sent an anonymous inquire to Madam Price about them.

The last book had him mulling what he knew about the girl. This book was about magical bonds and parenting. She was too young to be pregnant, and even if they had heard her talking about her tom cat, he knew that animal husbandry books were elsewhere.

So Ms. Granger why were you interested in guardianship requirements and bond requirements, Lucius thought to himself even as he set the list aside and went back to reading his division reports with a heavy sigh that sounded remarkably like his sons.

Malfoy Manor, later that evening 

Draco went to his room, annoyed at being ordered to change into dress robes. He hated his life, he hated how his parents were always ordering him around and he hated living in the middle of nowhere.

Changing his clothes, frowning as he put on the dark green dress robes his mother had purchased for him in Slytherin colors knowing that they did nothing for his coloring. As he messed around in his room hoping his parents would forget to call him down, he saw his broom and muttered that it wasn't fair that he was stuck doing what his poxy parents wanted him to do. He hated that his father had removed his wand at the beginning of summer and that he was being required to obey the no wands outside of Hogwarts deal.

He was sure that Harry bleeding Potter didn't have to behave like he did. He was sure that HE was allowed to have his wand all summer long. He probably didn't have to go out in public and pretend to care about stupid crap like his mom getting appointed to some stupid society of the whatever. He didn't want her to be busy this summer, he wanted her to spend it with him like other kids parents did.

He heard all about it as those Weasels bragged about their mom cooking for them and how she spent the entire summer with them. It wasn't fair. He was worth more than any stupid red headed lumbering git like Ron Weasley yet, he was stuck spending his summer inside doing revising for classes he had already passed and even worse, horror of horrors, forced to clean his room himself.

Hearing a pop that signaled a house elf, he turned to glare at the idiot.

"Mister Draco, your mother is waiting at the front door. Your father, Master Malfoy says if you don't hurry up you will be standing in the corner all day tomorrow." The house elf announced.

Draco stomped down the steps, still muttering about the indignity of being threatened by a house elf and how he hated wearing these idiotic robes. He saw the glare in his father's anger darkened gray eyes and his own dark blue eyes flickered as he glared right back.

He saw his father looking at his mother and then heard the comment about how on earth were they going to deal with two teenagers in the house for the summer and he found himself feeling a bit lighthearted, maybe, just maybe one of his friends were going to spend the summer here at Malfoy manor.

So in a bit better mood, Draco followed his parents to the apparation point and felt his father's hands on his shoulders as he side apparated him to his mothers favorite restaurant.

He even found it within him to mutter congratulations to his mother about her poxy club, even if he really wished she wasn't going to be so busy with it this summer. Who knows, maybe having one of his friends there would relieve the boredom he normally felt during the summer.

He stayed in a good mood or relatively good as they ate their rather delicious dinner, right up until dessert was delivered. Hearing what his father was saying and the horror of what his mother told him had Draco thinking that all of this was a nightmare.

What other reason could there be for him to have heard his father announcing that Hermione the know it all Granger was going to be spending time at HIS HOME this summer. Working up into a right lather as he forgot they were in public, he snarled at his father "Well why don't you just invite Potter while you are at it if you want to ruin my summer?

"Speaking of Harry Potter..." Lucius explained what was going on and to his shock his son's face turned several rather interesting shades of red, then white and finally as Draco forgot to breath, the boy passed out muttering that he really, really hated his life.

"Oh dear." Narcissa said hiding her need to smirk, distinctly reminded of three year old Draco when they had told him he couldn't ride the peacocks like they were horses. He had reacted the exact same way.

Lucius went to pay their bill and returned, reaching out to hold onto so he could side apparate their son home. Once in Malfoy manor, he carried the boy to bed and closing the door returned to where his wife was seated in the garden. "When did our son turn into a drama queen?"

Resting her head on his shoulder, Narcissa said "Lucius, he is following in his father's footsteps. I seem to recall an incident fifth year when Tomas Zabini asked me out..."

Lucius bent and kissed his wife, stopping all further talk about how his own little temper tantrum in Charms class had resulted in his standing in front of the entire class starkers. He could still hear Flitwick's nervous comments as the half Goblins handed him a transfigured robe. There were some things that the grown up dark wizard liked to pretend never happened.

Narcissa let him distract her in a rather enjoyable manner for the next few hours until they were curled up in their bed in the master bedroom then just as Lucius began to drift off to sleep, she whispered "You matured, at least partly, hopefully he will to. Or at least before he ends up naked and challenging the Head Boy to a wizards duel."

Lucius was too close to sleep and could only protest her reminder by saying "I wasn't naked."

"No, you at least still had your boots on." She answered with a half smirk on her face as she tucked her head down under his and onto his shoulder as she hid her need to giggle.

TBC


	3. Part PrincessPart Diplomat

A/N: I am debating between Draco running away and Lucius using Hermione being there to teach his son important lessons. Which would you prefer, Draco at the Grangers or Draco debating Hermione. Also, Harry gets pulled into the mix due to the Goblins in the next chapter. Do you want him teaching the two girls to cook or forced to study under Snape/Lupin.

Chapter 2

June 29th

Hermione Granger was staring and fighting the need to laugh as her Head of House, Minerva McGonagall and an older witch named Griselda Marchbanks stood in her living room and were going toe-to-toe with Neville's grandmother and a rather intimidating aristocratic witch named Boudica Pomfrey. A fifth witch was standing next to her, her hand resting on Hermione's shoulder as she also seemed to be enjoying the verbal throw down.

Looking at the gray haired witch wearing a monocle, she asked "Is the tall woman dressed in battle gear related to the medi-witch at Hogwarts?"

"Poppy is her niece. Madam Pomfrey speaks well of you." Amelia Bones added tearing her eyes off the feuding foursome and looking at the girl on the cusp of great beauty. "Did any of them inform you why they are fighting over you as if you were the last treacle tart and they were starving to death?

Slowly nodding no, Hermione said "Mrs. Longbottom showed up at breakfast time and told me about the Society of Vesta and my nomination as an apprentice. A little later Professor McGonagall and the other two arrived at the front door with you."

"There is an argument about who to place you with. There are two very different witches as potential captio." Amelia replied. "One for which others feel is more appropriate for you to work with, but from whom you would learn nothing more than simple household charms and maybe a hint of pureblood history. The second witch is arrogant and willful but the wealth of knowledge you would learn and the connections you would make that would benefit you the rest of your life."

"So why are they arguing?" Hermione asked pointing at the scene feet away. To Hermione it sounded like a clear cut choice.

"They are fighting because of the interference of one Hogwart's Headmaster who should NOT have been given the knowledge he was regarding your potential placing. Unfortunately, your Head of House went to him after she was defeated in a private session regarding who we wished to place you with. He decided to meddle in our business." Hermione heard the icy tone and couldn't help wondering exactly who this witch next to her was.

"He wants me with the first witch, correct?" Hermione asked with a scowl on her face. She had spent the last week learning about bonds and how they work and she was NOT happy with the Headmaster and her Hogwarts professors. If she was correct the wards his mother had created were around Harry not the house he was forced to return to and only needed his aunt's blood not her presence in his life.

"Yes, now Minerva wishes you well-placed and her only issue was the letter allowing you permission to perform under age magic until her visit to Hogwarts. If she had only addressed the issue with us and hadn't aired our secrets to a conscripted wizard, we wouldn't be having this petty argument as entertainment." Amelia replied.

Hermione looked at the witches and then around her parent's house wishing that her mom hadn't had to go to the office that day. Her mom had hinted at the invite and had in a round about way warned her about choosing what is easy versus what would help her in her ambitions for her future and then had said that the choice was up to her.

Looking back at the woman next to her, she said "I don't understand, if this is to be my choice, why are they arguing about it?"

"Your headmaster doesn't want you to have a choice." Amelia replied. She saw the anger on the teenager's face and silently chuckled knowing that this girl was made of sterner stuff than even Susan had described.

"What can you tell me about the two captio?" Hermione asked in a determined manner.

"Both will be initiates. That is a guarantee but due to how we vote, you are the only apprentice. Whichever witch you pair up with is almost certain to make it onto the council. Your choice must be a blind one and Minerva showed up today to violate that sacred trust on behalf of the Headmaster." Madam Bones replied.

Hermione looked at the four witches and with a mischievous grin asked "Are all four of these witches purebloods?"

"Yes." Amelia answered. "Why?"

"I was just determining the best way to get their attention." Hermione answered as she moved over to her father's rather new CD collection. Finding the CD labeled AC/DC, she stuck it into the machine and then leaned down to turn up the volume as loud as it would go, following the same procedure with the bass and treble before hitting play.

Looking over at the witch who was watching her with a curious expression on her face, she said "I would cover your ears."

Amelia did so, taking a step back and then in shock at the loud opening bars of some sort of song began to blare throughout out the house, she watched as the young witch stood there coolly staring at her elders with a slight smirk on her face when they all went silent at the same loud sound.

The opening words had all four women turned towards the large black boxes shrieking at them. Minerva McGonagall was shouting something but due to the loud screeching coming from the box, she couldn't be heard as they heard someone begin singing about being on a highway to hell.

Amelia watched as the fourteen year old calmly reached over and turned off the machine and the immediate silence in the house was as deafening as the music had been. Amelia was hiding the need to chuckle when she saw all four witches had their wands out and had most likely been thinking about blasting the machine with silencing charms.

When all four of the woman began to speak at the same time, Ms. Granger manipulated the same dial and the music returned. She glared at the others and then turned it down saying "If you want quiet, stop shouting."

"Ms Granger what is that horrible racket?" Amelia asked moving closer to the silver and black machine.

"It's called a stereo system. Sort of like a wizarding wireless." Hermione answered. "That CD is one of my dad's favorite for when he is mowing the garden because he knows it annoys my mother."

"Ms. Granger why on earth would..."

Hermione rushed in and interrupting her Head of House said "None of you were going to be quiet otherwise. Now, Madam Bones has filled me in on why the four of you are arguing and it was becoming clear that in spite of her telling me that this is my choice, you, Professor McGonagall felt I wasn't mature enough to make it myself."

"My dear, it's not that I don't feel you are mature enough, it's just that I don't like that you aren't being allowed to make an informed choice." Minerva quietly answered.

"Is what is being told to me the same that is normally told to apprentices?" She asked the woman, staring straight into her eyes.

Minerva reluctantly replied yes.

"So for some reason, you seem to feel that I deserve special consideration. More than any past apprentices." Hermione said. "Or should I say that the Headmaster seems to feel that I should have more information."

Hermione saw the angry glare from Professor McGonagall aimed at the woman standing near her and said "I have already made my choice."

"But my dear-."

Hermione looked at the older woman and said "Mrs. Longbottom filled my mother in, she advised me to do what I feel is right. Madam Bones told me the issues that the Headmaster seems to have. What I don't understand is why my SCHOOL Headmaster has any business knowing my business when it has NOTHING to do with my schooling?"

When Minerva McGonagall couldn't answer her, Hermione decided to lay it all on the line and said "Or is it that the only reason he is so interested in my business is because of my friendship with Harry Potter, another Hogwarts student in whose business he has interfered in when he has no right to."

"Now, Ms. Granger, the Headmaster is..."

"Not Harry's guardian." Hermione quietly replied. "No, he is the man who sealed the will of his parents and placed Harry with his relatives who hate magic. Who forces Harry to return there every single summer against his wishes."

There was an awkward silence as the five adults in the room avoided looking at each other. Hermione huffed at the reaction before saying "Anyhow, while Harry can't do anything about it. I can do what I feel is right for myself. I am choosing to be the apprentice to the captio recommended by Mrs. Pomfrey and Mrs. Longbottom."

Seeing her Head of House tense up, Hermione said "I thank you for the honor of offering to guide me in this choice but I feel that I must do what is best for me."

Minerva stood there, her lips moving but no words were coming out of her mouth as her favorite student basically told her that she didn't think she knew what was best for her.

"Minerva, as you know by Ms. Granger making her choice, this is now under seal and if you violate that seal, you may be removed from the Council of the Vesta." Amelia warned the older witch.

Nodding, Minerva looked at her student, worried about her choice but the moment that Hermione announced that she was seeking the support of Pomfrey and Longbottom, her own guidance was now at an end.

"I must return to Hogwarts." She announced quietly, deeply hurt at Hermione Granger's obvious preference for Mrs. Longbottom. Exiting the muggle home and entering the enclosed back garden, she apparated and returned to Hogwarts. Entering the castle, she saw Albus awaiting her in her office and holding up her hand announced "I am under sanction, Albus. I can say no more."

"My dear, I was only asking for your help to guide young Hermione Granger towards the better choice." He admonished.

"No, you were asking me to guide her to your choice." She answered.

"Molly Weasley would have been an excellent choice to guide our young witch towards her magical future." He replied.

"Giselda should not have told you who the choices were. I covered for her, but no more. As for Ms. Granger, Albus; I don't happen to agree with you regarding Molly Weasley. Yes, she is a lovely woman but I fear that she would have been unsuccessful in mentoring her apprenticeship. She doesn't look at Ms. Granger as a future leader in our world but in hopes that she ends up with one of her sons, most likely the youngest, Ronald which would be a disaster for Ms. Granger's future."

"I am sure that Molly knows her children better than we do." Albus serenely replied.

"Yes, she does know her children. Ms. Granger however isn't one of her children and she would blindly ignore that that young woman's future isn't as a housewife." With that, Minerva announced that she would be spending the next two weeks at her crofter's cottage near Glasgow.

Albus went back to his office disappointed but willing to accept that he wouldn't be able to help Molly Weasley gain entrance onto the Council of the Society of Vesta. He felt that if he had been able to obtain her a seat she would let him guide her in her votes as they worked together towards obtaining the greater good for all of magical Britain.

VESTA

Hermione listened as the three remaining witches filled her in on what the Society of Vesta stood for and their history. She was handed a slim leather book to keep before Amelia Bones guided her through her oath.

Her home was hooked up to the floo network, a ward set to prevent unwanted intrusions and, she was given her notice allowing her to preform underage magic before she was taken to the Ministry where she was introduced to the Minister of Magic.

She had politely greeted the man but couldn't help thinking that Harry's description of how he dressed and acted was very accurate. As they were leaving, she saw the blond hair that screamed Malfoy in the outer office and grimaced hoping that Draco had stayed silent about her decking the git.

Amelia Bones had guided her around the various Ministry offices including a visit with Arthur Weasley that had Hermione smiling in spite of how a very pompous Percy Weasley had acted shocked and appalled at the information that she had been appointed as an apprentice to a captio.

She had heard his muttering something to the person he was walking with about how it was wrong that muggleborn witch had been appointed to that position when pureblood witches such as his sister hadn't even been considered. That his sister would have appreciated the honor whereas Hermione Granger wouldn't.

Amelia had followed the two entry level ministry employees and stopped them at a certain distance away and Hermione had seen Percy flush at whatever she had said to him before his eyes went to Hermione. She saw his face go blank and then both wizards had scurried off.

Once that was finished, the three witches explained that she was going to be having lunch with her captio mentor. She found herself handed a very nice linen dress in a light purple color and a pair of flats.

When she was told about the required braids, she grimaced and explained about how the wildness of her hair kept her from wearing them. A quiet conversation between the trio and then Hermione was being escorted to a magical hair dresser.

A quick twenty minutes later, Hermione was staring at herself in the mirror, completely flabbergasted as the older wizard guided her through various hair charms including one that tamed her bushy hair. "Thank you."

"I'm rather surprised that no one has shown these charms to you." He said with a annoyed sniff. "Surely your best friend...?"

Hermione ruefully admitted "My best friend is a boy whose own hair is as unruly as mine."

"Well then, you will have to teach him these charms." The man announced and then said "You do have lovely curls when your hair is tamed my dear."

Hermione was guided to a nearby changing room by Boudica Pomfrey who said that she was going to be guiding her from here on out until they turned her over to her mentor. Augusta told her to owl her if she had any questions and Amelia Bones had returned to her office at the Ministry.

When she exited the changing room, the hairdresser Reynand, moved to where she was standing and wove a matching lilac ribbon into her hair. Boudica looked at her with approval and Hermione gathered her courage to follow her out of the hairdresser shop and across the lanes of Diagon Alley to the bistro near the apothecary.

"Oh, I love this place." Hermione said wearing a beaming smile. "I came here during my first visit to Diagon Alley but I couldn't convince my parents to return because of all of the desserts."

Boudica stopped Hermione and looked over the fourteen year old and said "You are perfect. Did your mother tell you that this witch you are meeting is a pureblood who has never actually meet a muggle?"

"No." Hermione said.

"One of the reasons I am so sure that you are perfect for this apprenticeship is that she was vaguely acquainted with the mother of your friend, Mr. Potter through a friendship Lily Evans had with a young Slytherin student."

"Harry's mom was friends with someone in Slytherin?" Hermione asked wide eyed. "I wonder why no one told him..."

"From the way you stopped speaking I am guessing you figured it out." Boudica asked.

"Yes." Hermione said shaking her head at proof of yet another secret being kept from Harry. "So my mentor will inform me of her labors and my job is to help her fulfill them."

"Yes. I am sure you are going to have doubts when you hear everything, Ms. Granger, but you were chosen for this apprenticeship on your own skills and intelligence. Who you were paired with, what your assignment will be was created with your history at Hogwarts in mind." Boudica said. "Even Minerva in spite of her intransigence believes that you are the best person for this job. She however has doubts regarding the chosen captio."

Nodding, Hermione said "I understand."

"I don't think you do, at least not just yet." Boudica cryptically replied as she led Hermione into the bistro and found the private table in a quiet corner. "You should know, the alternate possible initiate was Molly Weasley."

Seeing Hermione's regret at not choosing the mother of her friend, Boudica said "Ms. Granger, while Molly Weasley has many admirable qualities, she has several very large blind spots that will mostly lead to her failure if she had been paired with you. Now, standing on her own with her family to help, she at least has a good chance of becoming an initiate if not making the council."

VESTA

Lucius had left the manor early that morning and had glad handed a few old acquaintance at the Ministry. He had not received the address of Mr. Potter's muggle family but he had been informed about the sealed Potter will and the medical records that the Ministry kept on all incoming Hogwart's students.

While he disliked the boy's arrogance, even Lucius had to admit that Harry Potters grace and skill on a broom spoke of someone who was not clumsy. Yet if you read his medical history you would believe that until he arrived at Hogwarts he was extremely accident prone.

With narrowed eyes, he went to speak to Cornelius only to see the mudb-er muggleborn girl Hermione Granger being introduced to the Minister as the newest apprentice of the Society of the Vesta.

He wondered if anyone had bothered to tell the young woman exactly what that meant or if that would land in his wife's lap. Still, as he watched her interact with those around her, he grudgingly had to admit she showed a poise and intelligence that bespoke of good parenting somewhere.

A visit with the Minister had him thoughtful as he exited Fudge's office. His story about what Severus said happened at Hogwarts and how it differed with the story told by Potter and his friends had Lucius thinking that maybe, just maybe if he proved Black innocent his wife and he wouldn't have to take in Potter themselves, that they could just free him from the family he lived with.

So in a slightly better mood, Lucius returned to his office and sat down to write himself a list of everything he knew about Sirius Black. He watched the clock, noting how it was almost time for his wife to be meeting Ms. Granger, so he decided to go have lunch with Draco who had refused to speak to his mother of himself at breakfast.

VESTA

Harry got comfortable on his bed after an early lunch in the kitchen. His aunt had ordered him to fix his own meal like he had for the sixteen days. His time at the Dursley house had been strange. No chores, no being locked in after that first night but he was completely and totally ignored by everyone with the exception of his aunt who came three times a day to direct him to fix himself his meal and then handed him a bottle of water before sending him to his room.

For once he was eating regularly and the water was keeping him hydrated. Hedwig was regularly flying outside at night and to Hermione. Harry had only received one note from Ron, who once again mentioned the Quidditch World Cup but otherwise, his letter was a litany of complaints about being required to do chores and how his mother was upset about his grades.

Still, while things were better than they had ever been before at the Dursleys, Harry was bored to death. He had revised his entire three past years of the History of Magic and had already finished the assigned summer work. He had done the same in Astronomy and Herbology.

Grabbing his second year charms books, Harry was midway through it when he noticed that he had been preforming the tickling charm room. Sitting up and grabbing his quill and some parchment, Harry wrote down what he was doing wrong and how to correct it, wincing as he once again realized how little attention he had paid to his homework for the last few years and how much he had missed that was important.

Once again vowing to do better this year, Harry continued on in his book, finding little things he had missed second year even as he moved on to his third year charms text book.

VESTA

Hermione stood and shook hands with the blond even as she reeled at the knowledge her captio mentor was Draco Malfoy's mother, who had just requested that she call her Narcissa.

Boudica said that she would be right back and then left the two as was required.

There was silent and then Narcissa looked at Hermione. "Lilac looks very nice on your, Ms. Granger. May I call you Hermione?"

" Yes, of course and thank you." Hermione said and then took a sip of her hot tea, unsure what to say or do.

Narcissa seemed to be having the same issue but with her added maturity she seemed to find the direction needed to speak to the muggleborn girl. "Ms. Granger, Hermione- I am sure that you would prefer just about anyone else as your mentor, however, I am quite sincere in my hopes that you will allow me to guide you honestly towards a better future."

She saw the wide eyed expression on the teenager's face and said "I am well aware that my husband and son have left you with a less than favorable opinion of my family."

Hermione swallowed the angry response just begging to be allowed out and simply said "Unlike others, I don't prejudge people."

Narcissa just inclined her head and replied "We will need to learn to trust one another over the next four weeks. I am sure that given time and proximity that you will find that my family is no worse than most."

When she saw Hermione begin to speak, Narcissa held up her hand and said "I suggest that you let me inform you of our labors before you reject my mentoring out of hand."

Narcissa explained about her first labor and admitted ruefully. "I am not much of cook but that might be to my benefit when it comes to this labor."

"I can't cook either." Hermione admitted. "I am allowed to bake cookies and cakes but after I accidentally set the curtains on fire, I was banned from using the stove."

"Well then this will be an adventure for both of us." Narcissa said with a hint of a smile on her face.

Hermione saw the strange twinkle in the blue eyes of the woman across from her and couldn't resist returning the offered smile. "Have you set up a menu yet?"

"No." Narcissa admitted. "I should tell you the second labor. It's one that might be an issue for myself. There was an... incident in my youth involving the family manor home here in London. My second labor, the one regarding the home requires me to create a home. While decorating charms and even the necessary cleaning charms are within my preview, my emotions regarding this house will create some conflict. Now, I was given to understand that you met my cousin at Hogwarts this year."

"Your cousin?" Hermione asked trying to recall anyone mentioning being related to the Malfoys.

Shaking her head, Narcissa said "It is unbelievable what is kept from the students now. I was born Narcissa Persephone Black. My cousin is Sirius Black."

"You are cousins with Sirius?" She asked completely surprised.

"Yes, we parted ways when he was young. I was rather angry with him for the event I mentioned earlier. I blamed him for something he wasn't responsible for except in my mind." Narcissa admitted. "Anyhow, the house I am being required to clear out, clean and remodel I believe belongs to him."

"Then how can you be required to do this?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

Narcissa admitted "I was rather shocked about it myself however Madam Pomfrey explained that she is an executor for the estate and with Sirius being in the news recently she recalled her duty to the house."

"What if Sirius doesn't want it cleaned?" Hermione asked.

"My cousin isn't available to ask." Narcissa replied before leaning over and saying quietly "I believe however that Boudica Pomfrey has been in contact with Sirius considering my third labor. The labor of family."

Hermione looked at Narcissa Malfoy who slide a folder over to her. "I do believe that you sent this to the Child Protective Services for Magical children."

The teenage witch read the letter she had sent and was angry when she looked up about to accuse the woman's husband of interfering only to be handed yet folder.

Gasping in shock, she slammed it shut and looked at the woman before asking "I suppose your husband thought this was amusing, after all he tried to kill Harry last year. He must have been thrilled to know that the muggles he lives with almost did it for him."

Narcissa placed her hand on Hermione's arm and stopped her from leaving before coldly saying "My husband has made many mistakes in his life, but he has never ever approved of mistreating children."

"Ginny Weasley might have a different view of that." Hermione snapped.

Narcissa felt her arm go lax as she admitted "Hermione, you are a very smart young woman. Are you aware of how that journal worked?"

Seeing the young woman nod slowly, Narcissa confessed her husband's secret. "It's not only young woman who foolishly write in things when they should know better."

Gulping hard, trying to add this new piece of information to an already finished data puzzle, Hermione looked at the woman who didn't seem to be lying.

Narcissa saw and felt the Granger girl stop trying to leave so she continued "I am not saying my husband wasn't trying to get revenge on Arthur Weasley. The blood feud between the Weasley family and the Malfoys go back generations, but he fell under the influence of that journal and his careless actions were the result of the imprint of the dark wizard within."

"He and Draco hate muggles." Hermione said.

"Lucius despises what he sees as weakness. Draco unfortunately tends to worship his father even as he rebels against his restrictions. Now, I am about to tell you one of Draco's secrets in hope that you might be a bit more understanding regarding my son."

Hermione sat there shocked as Narcissa Malfoy explained that Draco had taken Care of Magical Creatures to get over a phobia created by his visit to the Forbidden Forest in their first year at Hogwarts. "My son in trying to prove that he wasn't afraid made a bad move and then tried to protect his standing in his own house by lying. His mistakes drew in his father and Lucius weighed the life of that hippogriff against our son's."

"It doesn't change that Draco was gleefully bragging about wanting to watch Buckbeak being killed." Hermione quietly responded.

"No, it doesn't. My son has been a rather unpleasant young man for the last several months. He is being punished by his father and myself for his attitude and actions. His jealousy of what he considers Mr. Potter's favored status and his belief that Mr. Potter is spoiled and even allowed his wand all summer long has led to my son's regrettable attitude."

"But you have the file, you know the truth." Hermione said pointing to the records.

"Yes I do. Lucius now does. However, we would never tell our son about it. It is none of his business unless Mr. Potter himself tells him." Narcissa stated. She saw the slight doubt in the teenager's eyes but that she seemed to be more accepting of her truths.

Just in time, Boudica returned and after that point, the two adults and the teenager had a pleasant lunch of soup and watercress sandwiches followed by a tray of fresh fruits and cheeses. Hermione listened and rarely offered her opinion as they discussed how Narcissa was to achieve her labors.

"Excuse me, but do they have to be done in a specific order?" Hermione asked the older witch.

"No, they are to be finished by a set date but the order they are done in and how they are accomplished are up to the captio with the exception of certain requirements." Boudica replied. As they exited the bistro, Narcissa was listening to the news that Ms. Granger was able to floo out of her home.

"Perfect, perhaps you would care to join me tomorrow morning at nine. I will arrange for the wards to be lowered so that we may have a look at the manor's kitchen." she said to Hermione while frowning before admitted "I am sure we have one some place. I am sure that it is a requirement of the manor house. I will have to ask Lucius if he knows where it is?"

Hermione at first thought that this woman was joking until Madam Pomfrey inquired "Narcissa my dear, how long have Lucius and yourself lived in the manor?"

"Since we were married sixteen years ago." She replied.

"Oh dear." Boudica replied clearly stunned as she realized that the easiest of the assignments, the cooking of a meal might be the hardest for the pampered society witch next to her. A bit concerned as she would have to consume this dinner, she felt a sense of relief as she reminded herself that Severus Snape would be there.

Say what you would about the unpleasant and sardonic man, he was a brilliant potion's master. Surely he would have the good sense to carry the antidote for food poisoning on him.

Letting Narcissa know that she had to return Ms. Granger to her home, Boudica apparent to the back garden of the Granger home and with a little probing found out the young apprentice had no more cooking skill than her mentor.

Vowing to make peace with Minerva and to warn her of the impending poisoning possibility, Boudica wished the young apprentice well and then quickly left to write a much needed letter.

VESTA

As the rat hid under the stairs of the old abandoned house, he gleefully reminded himself that he would be out of the country by the end of the week and off to locate his master.

Right now, however he had to avoid the insane house elf who kept trying to end his existence. Finding a quiet and dark corner, Peter Pettigrew changed back into his human form and shivered in spite of the warm of the summer.

He knew hiding in a house owned by the Black family was dangerous but he had no other choice. He had to get to the train station so that he could cross to the European mainland.

VESTA

Lucius listened to his son's constant whining and was considering sending him to their estate in Ireland to help their steward for the summer. While he loved Draco, he was getting to the edge of his patience with the teenager who seemed to be clueless about anything other than his wants and needs.

Hearing his wife arrive, he looked over at his son and pointed to the parchment in front of the boy. "When I return, I expect to see at least six reasons written down as to why your behavior so far this summer has been less than appropriate."

Draco glared and tightened his grip on the quill but Lucius wasn't finished speaking as he added "Draco, Ms Granger being apprenticed to your mother doesn't count as a reason. Now get moving or that corner is going to be looking awfully inviting when I get back."

Lucius soon found his wife in her own study and after greeting her with a kiss asked "How did it go?"

Waving him to be seated across from her, a soft smile gracing her lips as she once again was reminded how out of place he looked in the ladies study at Malfoy Manor. He resembled a caged tiger in the delicate furnishings and lacy fabrics of this room that had existed for centuries.

Moving away from the spindle legged writing desk, she stood and moved to sit on the nearby fainting couch and gestured for him to join her. Once he was, she kicked off her flat shoes and curled up to him.

"There was a bit of trouble this morning as the Headmaster tried to interfere. I am sure that his next gambit will be to try to separate Ms. Granger from Mr. Potter so as to keep my influence away from the boy."

"It's rather strange his interest in that boy. I don't remember his reacting to the father in that way, let along Lily Evans." Lucius replied. "It has to be more than this Boy Who Lived Nonsense especially if he is forcing the boy to stay with his relatives."

"It was handled and from what you wrote in your letter, she did very well for a muggleborn at the Ministry today." Narcissa said.

Reluctantly, Lucius said "She did very well as a witch, let alone a muggleborn. From those who spoke to her, she was part princess greeting her subjects and part diplomat. Fudge is impressed. Ironically, this visit might have him rethinking his belief she was confounded by Sirius. With a small nudge I have him requesting the Black file and trial records."

"Wonderful." Narcissa replied before adding "The bistro was a big hit."

"You're welcome." He said with a smirk to his tone that had her elbowing him. "I have yet to hear of a woman who doesn't enjoy lunch there."

"Fine, but I had better be the only woman you ever spend time with there." she said with a warning tone to her voice that had him chuckling. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said "The introduction went fine. She is quite intelligent and it was a bit awkward at the beginning, we did find some common ground."

"How did she take the news of your assignment." Lucius asked.

"There was tension and a reminder that she is acquainted with Draco and yourself. She seemed to know more about that incident regarding the hippogrif than I expected." She stated.

"Macnair mentioned that Hagrid had help preparing his defense of the creature. I suspect it was Ms. Granger's notes now, not the Headmaster's." Lucius replied.

"She is fiery." Narcissa said with a slightly more cheerful tone. "I spoke to her about the journal. She seemed to get my suggestion that men can be as foolish as teenage girls."

Lucius winced. He had been sorting through the various dark objects in the manor the month after Draco had left for Hogwarts his first year. He had spent almost a year letting that journal influence his thoughts and actions and his wife was never going to let him forget about it.

"I should say that she never mentioned being petrified. Instead it seemed she was more bothered by what happened between Mr. Potter and yourself regarding that strange house elf." Narcissa said.

"We should have never taken Dobby on." Lucius replied. The house elf had come to them several years ago through an inheritance and his strangeness had distanced the other house elves and created chaos. Lucius had reacted badly and it had worsened the situation. When Potter had freed the elf, Lucius had been beyond thought which had him overreacting in ways that still haunted him.

He had no since the end of the first war pulled his wand on anyone in anger and the first time he did it had been against a twelve year old boy.

"She was angry about what is going on with Potter." she told him. "I think she is going to be the perfect ally for rescuing him."

Lucius was reminded of the books she had borrowed from the lending library and said "I agree. I spoke to Fudge about the boy and after that interview and one with an old auror friend, might have a plan of action involving proving that his godfather Sirius is innocent."

"I will leave that in your hands. I am going to move on the situation regarding the boy from another direction. Public relations." She said with a smile. "Even if we don't have legal custody of him soon, I am going to make sure that the Headmaster is trapped by his own arrogance."

"My dear?" He looked down with an inquiring expression.

"Albertina Nott happened to mention that the Weasley family was given preference for tickets for the Minister's box for the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. She was rather furious about it but when I did some speaking to others, I found out that the Headmaster used some of his influence. My guess is that it is a treat for Harry Potter."

Lucius let out a low chuckle and said "Let me take care of that one. It fits in with my plan. If you don't mind?"

When Narcissa heard what he had in mind, she agreed but said "I have already sent a note to that werewolf friend of Sirius', without signing it of course. He went to the meeting with the Goblins, so hopefully with their help, we shall be able to achieve the first part of the family labor."

Lucuis looked at the ornate clock on the mantle and saw he had about thirty minutes before he needed to be concerned regarding Draco so he drew his wife into a kiss with the intent of enjoying at least part of his afternoon. One kiss led to another and he was slowly unbuttoning his own shirt when an owl flew in and landed on the edge of the chaise.

"Go away." He muttered at the large bird. Instead it attempted to peck him. Muttering an oath, Lucius removed the parchment and after reading it, reluctantly told his wife he had to go to the office.

"Why don't you take Draco with you?" She suggested as she straightened her clothes and struggled to regain her composure. Lucius agreed and once his own clothes were straight, he strolled towards the door only stopping when he heard "Oh, I forgot to ask. Lucius do we have anything as mundane as a kitchen in this manor?"

VESTA

On an island in the middle of the Atlantic, Sirius Black sent an owl to his godson, hoping his visit to threaten Lily's sister had had some affect. He longed to be with Harry and to be free to be his guardian but his impulsive mistakes at the end of the year had cost his godson too much.

Walking to the water's edge, he was letting the low tide lap at his feet when he saw a large but elegant owl land near him. It held out it's leg and after checking the parchment for hexes, Sirius opened the letter and began to read.

The top letter had him in shock, the wax with an impression of the letter M had him quickly telling it that he solemnly swore he was up to no good. With shaking hands, Sirius rushed back to the main house and sank into a chair in the old fashioned kitchen.

Grabbing a quill and parchment, he quickly replied before charming the letter. Writing a rather bland top letter, Sirius sent his reply out and then went to the sunny parlor nearby.

Settling down onto the sofa, he reread and read the note again and again, hope filling his heart for the first time in thirteen years as he closed his eyes and begged whoever was listening that Moony was correct and that there was a good chance of freeing his godson from those dreadful muggles.

TBC


	4. Sirius paid them a visit

A/N: The room I described for the Society of the Vestas, minus the table and no windows is one I saw in Italy several years ago just outside of Florence. I bought the post card because we weren't allowed to take photos. It's on my ribbon board above my desk and it just fit what I wanted for the story. Thanks to all who have reviewed and please continue to do so because storyline feedback often helps guide me to where I go next. I have decided to include all four ideas. Harry studying with the adults and supervising the cooking. Draco in the muggle world and then debating Hermione with Harry acting as moderator.

Chapter Four

When she awoke the next morning, Hermione saw that Hedwig had returned and was thrilled at the idea of sending Harry a note to tell him all that was going on. She needed his cynicism regarding the Malfoys at the moment to make sure that she wasn't being manipulated because she was finding she had enjoyed her time with Narcissa the day before.

Taking the offered missive from the owl, she curled up on her bed and read Harry's letter.

_Dear Hermione;_

_Things are the same here. I think that someone said something to the Dursleys last year when they came to fix Uncle Vernon's sister because I haven't been assigned a single chore and have been being feed. They have totally been ignoring me except for the three times a day my aunt orders me to cook my meals._

_Speaking of meals, I forgot to tell Mr_s. _Weasley that everything was fine and she sent me a huge basket full of food. I feel bad because most of it is sweets and after gorging myself yesterday, I find I don't want any of them anymore. Oh, I didn't get a chance to tell you in my last letter but Dudley is being forced to go on a diet by his school. It has been rather entertaining listening to my aunt's excuses for his weight and Uncle Vernon's complaints as she forces him to obey the same diet._

There was a break in the letter and then Hermione found it more difficult to read as Harry was clearly excited.

_I just got your note, congratulations, I can't imagine anyone that deserves this Vesta thing more than you! What does that mean, being apprenticed?_

_I am glad that you saw Neville, he never says much but I think that his parents are still alive. At least, I think so. It sounds as if your mom loves having him there to teach. I'm not surprised Neville likes the bicycle more than a broom. He like you wasn't too fond of the idea of flying on a broom._

_Wow about Professor McGonagall being one of those who nominated you. I told you you were her favorite student. So, I know that Amelia Bones is an auror or something but who are those other two ladies?_

_Please sent me a note and tell me who you are apprenticed to._

_Love Harry_

Hermione took the note she already wrote and quickly added a post script and then after giving Hedwig a treat, watched as the snowy owl flow off to the east. Getting up, Hermione went to shower and returned to her bedroom wearing her robe trying to figure out what to wear for this meeting at the Malfoy house.

Changing her clothes several times, she finally wore one of the summer dresses her mother had picked up for her and one of her lighter school robes. Standing in front of the mirror, she used one of the more simpler hair charms and then slipping her feet into a pair of sandals grabbed her back pack filled with her muggle style notebook and pens before going to the fireplace.

At exactly one minute to nine, she called out Malfoy Manor and saw the flames turn green. Stepping into the fireplace, completely disconcerted by the experience, she found herself stumbling at the other end only to be caught in the strong calloused hands of an adult.

Looking up, shocked to see her potion's professor, she gaped at the man for a few seconds before regaining control and stating "Good morning, Professor Snape."

"Ms. Granger." He replied in an even tone in spite of his surprise to see one of his muggleborn students in the home of one of more stringent pureblood estates. "May I inquire as to why you are here?"

"Oh, there you are, Severus." The dark haired man turned to greet Lucius only to see his eyes were on the teenage girl standing next to him. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Ms. Granger. My wife will be right in."

Lucius called out for one of the house elves and directed it to take Ms. Granger to the Ladies study.

Snape followed Lucius out of the entrance hallway and into his study, waiting until the older man closed the door before asking "Why on earth is the very muggleborn Hermione Granger in your home?"

"Ms. Granger is my wife's Vesta apprentice." Lucius announced. Seeing the accepting expression, he said "It's on Narcissa's behalf that I requested your presence."

Lucius explained about the dinner party and saw the fear on the dark haired man's face at the invite to dinner. "At least you only have to eat one of the meals, Narcissa has decided that she is going to practice on Draco and myself once a week for the next month."

He saw Snape's shoulders shaking in laughter and ruefully nodded "If I didn't know she loved me, I would believe that my wife was unhappy with our marriage and that she felt being a widow was more preferable than a divorcee."

"I will prepare a small stock pile of antidotes." Severus offered feeling relieved that he hadn't been asked to partake in the meals. "Perhaps I should invite Draco to help me?"

Shaking his head no, Lucius looked at his friend and said "The behavior you reported to me has continued. I am going to follow my usual pattern of working less during the summer in hopes that I may be able to convince my son to open up to me about what the real problem is."

"If you need any help..." Severus left the statement open knowing that Lucius would understand. "Having Granger here won't make things easy. Draco is rather jealous of the girl's friendship with Potter."

Sitting on the corner of his desk, Lucius said "I just don't understand what is going on there. Does he like the girl or Potter?"

Severus went over to the nearby bookshelf as he tried to find a way to explain to Lucius. "It's not that kind of jealousy, Lucius. Draco even in a crowd of people feels alone. Potter, is Draco's equal. One of the very few in his grade level. Magically and intelligence wise as well as socially thought you wouldn't know it from the boy's grades. The Granger girl is the same except for the social aspect."

"If Potter had befriended him, Draco wouldn't have doubted if his friend was his friend because of himself or for who he was." Lucius said finally getting it.

"Unlike when you attended Hogwarts, Lucius, there are very few of his social equals. There are not as many students at Hogwarts as when we attended. Draco's insecurities were compounded by Potter's obvious disdain for Slytherins and his friendship with the Weasleys."

"James Potter would be furious to know that his son was friends with Molly Prewett's boy." Lucius said softly shaking his head in surprise. "Still, he did like Arthur so that might have offset his dislike for Molly and what she did to Lily."

"Lily wouldn't have cared, she tried to be kind to everyone." Lucius heard the softness in Snape's tone and decided to use that statement to move to his next discussion with Severus.

"Speaking of Lily Evans. Are you aware that you are listed as one of the Potter boy's godfathers." Lucius said. Seeing the automatic dismissal of this statement, he held out the copy of Potter's birth registry. "Line nineteen."

Severus scanned the certificate, reading the early parts where it listed Potter's parentage, his birth date and other significant data before locating the part that listed the boy's magical godparents. "Alice Farnsworth Longbottom, Sirius Orion Black, wait what?"

Feeling a bit weak in the knees, Severus sank into a nearby wing backed chair and read "Severus Tobias Snape." It was countersigned by both Lily and James Potter. Along with a notation that one Remus John Lupin was Potter's godfather in the muggle world.

Lucius handed him the letter he had located and said "If the Potter's died and the ministry fell to the Dark Lord, this letter was in the file for you."

Severus opened the letter and read the long note from Lily, hurting at the sight of the familiar handwriting. The part written by Potter had him shaking his head even as he felt a tiny bit of his heart healing. Looking up at Lucius he said "Potter had to be part Slytherin."

"No idea but it is a brilliant tactic. No matter who won the war, his son would have survived at least until the prophecy became public." Lucius replied. "Either way, when I was at the Ministry, I looked at Potter's records. His parentage is listed as Lily and James Potter parents, Sirius Black as his blood godfather. The strange thing is, the document had been altered and sealed. The Ministry believed it was because of the Black situation."

"Of course, he spilled blood to protect the boy." Severus said. "Crouch hated the Blacks, he wouldn't have wanted it known that Black spilled blood since it meant he couldn't betray the boy."

Pulling one last document from the desk, Lucius said "A friend passed this on to me late last night. It was sealed by the Headmaster minutes after the Potters died. Crouch never saw this one."

Severus froze as he saw his name was also listed as blood godfather along with Lupin. He was about to object that he never spilled blood for the boy but a memory of being tortured by Bellatrix two nights after the dark lord went missing came to the forefront of his mind. Swearing silently, he looked at Lucius and said "Albus sealed this?"

"Yes. I am sure if he is asked, he will say something about it being at the request of James and Lily, but since I have a good idea what is in their will, I sincerely doubt it." Lucius replied.

"I can't take the boy you know that." Severus quickly replied.

"No, you can't." Lucius knew of Severus Snape's issues and his fears and he had only considered it for a few minutes the night before. "The thing is, we can't leave the boy with that family."

"Lily's parents must adore her son. They were ecstatic at their daughter's abilities." Snape replied.

"I need you to follow me." Lucius said and he lead Severus to his wife's study. They could hear the soft tones of the two witches as they planned out their next few weeks. Entering after knocking at the door, Lucius asked "Ms. Granger, would you settle a disagreement for us."

Hermione nodded and put down her pen curious as to why she was being asked to settle their debate.

"Does Harry Potter live with his muggle grandparents?" He asked.

Frowning, Hermione snapped "No, he lives with his aunt and uncle."

Snape reached out and grasped her arm as she reached for her pen. "Potter lives with Petunia?"

Brown eyes met black and Hermione gasped in pain as she heard her professor mutter something while holding his wand and then her memories of Harry's letters and medical issues came to the forefront. She felt the presence inside of her mind leave and the sound of loud cursing as her professor stormed out of the room.

"I do apologize, Ms. Granger. I had no idea that Severus would try to perform Legimancy on you." Lucius said and then quietly called for a house elf. "Bring Ms. Granger a headache potion." With that, he left the room to chase down the angry man who was now pacing back and forth in the manor entrance. "Severus, what are you going to do?"

"What do you think I am going to do? I am going to remove that boy from that house and then I am going to strangle that old man with his own beard." Severus snarled.

"How very Gryffindor of you." Lucius drawled. Snape whirled around to face the blond so he said "We have a plan in place that will work very well as long as you don't turn all Gryffindor and ruin it."

"Who is we?" Snape spat out.

"Come back to the study." Lucius said and once they were inside they sat down and he filled in the other man. Once they had settled on how Severus could help, he took the other man to task for his mind attack on Ms. Granger reminding him that the young woman was a guest in his home and that meant she was under his protection.

VESTA

Hermione took the headache potion but rejected Narcissa's offer to lay down. "It's fine. What was that?"

Narcissa went to the book shelf and pulled out the book on the mind arts and handed it to the young girl. "It's something that my grandmother insisted on my sisters and I learning before we went to Hogwarts. Your Headmaster all has the same ability."

"Did he read my mind?" Hermione asked wearing a frown.

"No, it's more complicated than that. He saw your memory but not the emotions behind it." Narcissa explained and once they were seated again, she looked over and with a pained expression asked if Hermione needed parchment. The teenager was using some absolutely lurid paper that was red along the outer edges with gold paisley swirls and a gold inner area to be written on. The strange writing instrument used ink that had sparkles in it.

Hermione lifted her pen and her notebook and admitted "I know I should just use quills and parchment but when I was little I used to love it when my mother would purchase me fancy stationary and matching pens. It makes her feel more connected to me when I use them during the summer."

"It's rather, uh, bright." Narcissa answered then with a smirk turned the colors to a more appropriate shade using her wand. That was much better.

Hermione had seen the other woman's disdain for her muggle pens and paper and had defiantly continued to use them in her determination to remind Narcissa she was a muggleborn but when she heard the woman mutter that that was better and looked down to see her paper was now green and silver and that the ink was now green with silver flicks, she couldn't help laughing.

"You could have just asked." Hermione said as she reached for her bookbag and pulled out paper that was already green but with blue stripes.

Narcissa's smug blue eyes met the brown of Hermione's and couldn't resist smirking. "Once a Slytherin, always green and silver."

"I hope not." Hermione said with a heavy sigh before looking around and leaning in to whisper "I have never been a big fan of red."

Narcissa raised her eye brow and said "More a long the fan of emerald green are we?"

Blushing, Hermione pretended to be very busy for a second before asking "So, which project do you want to begin first?"

"I set in motion my plan to rescue Mr. Potter from his relatives. I have assigned Lucius to help with that, it's why your Potion's professor is here." She announced. "I am going to contract a Goblin cleaning crew to help us with the Black Manor. Boudica Pomfrey is going to be attending to us when we are on Grimmauld Place."

"The dinner?" Hermione asked as she made notes.

"I have scheduled practice meals between now and the date of the dinner party on July 31st. I was thinking if we freed young Harry, we could invite him to the formal dinner party."

"It's his birthday." Hermione admitted. "He might want to spend it at the Burrow because Ron wrote that his mom was hoping he could since we are all supposed to be there for the end of summer."

"We shall see what we can do." Narcissa lied. She had no intention of freeing Potter only for him to fall into the clutches of a woman who freely admitted to the use of love potions. Especially since the same family had a daughter who according to Astoria and Daphne Greengrass aspired to be Mrs. Harry Potter someday. "Now, I requested that the Head House Elf show me around the kitchens and I was rather pleased to find out we have something called a stove."

Hermione's eyes almost bugged out as Narcissa casually mentioned cooking a rather complicated meal later that week after admitting she had never stepped foot in a kitchen in her life.

"Um, Mrs. Malfoy..." Hermione resorted to formal names because she wasn't sure how to do what she had to.

"Narcissa, my dear. Please call me Narcissa."

"It's just... uh, maybe you should start off with something simple." Hermione said swallowing hard. "It's like with potions. You don't begin with polyjuice potion, you start with a basic healing potion."

The blond looked disappointed as she said "Coq au Vin is Lucius's favorite dish. I wanted to thank him for all the hard work he has been doing to help me."

Hermione was torn between the very satisfying mental image of Lucius Malfoy puking up his stomach contents after suffering from salmonella poisoning and doing what was right. "Maybe that could be the final meal you cook for this. A small dinner for two with just your husband and yourself."

Narcissa seemed to think about it and then looking at Hermione suggested that they find some cookbooks to guide them. Relieved, Hermione agreed and the two women went to locate the kitchen.

Vesta

Harry had finished his Charms books and assignments and was midway through his Transfiguration third year book when Hedwig flew into his window. Taking the offered note as his owl settled into her open cage, Harry eagerly opened Hermione's letter.

He snickered as he read about her stunt to quiet down the bickering witches, idly wondering about something similar for when Ron and she began arguing this upcoming school year.

He winced as he read about who Amelia Bones was. Not just an auror but the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The very person who was in charge of the search for his godfather.

He was shaken when he saw the name Narcissa Malfoy and quickly got off his bed to gather parchment and a quill so that he could write her back. As he read about the encounter, Harry struggled not to flee Privet Drive and to go rescue his friend. When he came to the part about his mother having had a friend in Slytherin, Harry had rejected it at first, but he had felt ashamed as he faced that he didn't know one way or another if it was true.

When he read her final comment, he unwilling found himself agreeing to let things be unless she told him that something was wrong. Her last comment, in the form of a post script about Narcissa Malfoy not knowing if her house had a kitchen had Harry chuckling in spite of himself.

Taking a deep breath, he wrote a letter to Hermione and then once he got his fears out of the way and down on paper. He immediately tore it up afterwords and wrote a second letter to her. This one he told Hedwig that he needed to send when the owl was up to it. His familiar nipped his arm and extended her leg. "You want to go now?"

He would have sworn that he saw his owl nod even as it edged closer so that the letter could be attached. Sending it off, Harry went back to his text book and sank back onto his bed, hoping to get through his third year book by dinner time. He had been rather unsettled to realize that he found several lesson plans that he hadn't fully paid attention to in what he now knew had been his father's favorite subject.

Realizing that he was having trouble concentrating, Harry closed the book and sat there brooding as his mind went to the thought of his mother having been friends with anyone who wore the silver and green Snake colors.

After a half hour of this, Harry vowed to put it out of his mind, recalling that he had no way of knowing who it might have been. After all the only Slytherin he knew about going to school with his mother was his horrible potion's teacher and the one thing he was very sure of was that his mother would have never been friends with a git like that.

Vesta

Hermione and Narcissa didn't find any cookbooks in the kitchen and after a rather cold reception from the house elves who clearly felt they were invading their territory, the two left to return to the study. "Where are we going to find cookbooks?"

"I asked the portrait librarian and he states that nothing like that exists in the Malfoy library. There might be some in the Black library when we arrive there tomorrow but I shudder what the ingredients might be." Narcissa stated.

"What about Florish and Blotts or the magical library? Or I could check the muggle library." Hermione offered. "It can't be that different. I saw your stove and it looks a bit old fashioned but it might operate the same."

Narcissa suggested that they try the book store first and with that, they exited the study once again and returned to the front entrance where the floo was located. They arrived just in time to see Draco leaving with his father and godfather.

The flames returned to their normal color as Narcissa called out to her favorite clothing store. Once there, she discreetly spoke to her designer all the while watching as Hermione walked around the shop.

"Shall we head over to the bookstore?" Narcissa asked after thanking the seamstress for her help.

In the bookstore, they found the books they needed but to Narcissa's surprise, they were all for more complicated meals using charms. Asking for more basic books, she was directed to the young adult section where she located several more books but seemed to have lost her apprentice.

Finally locating Hermione who was looking at books on decorating charms, she looked through her stack and said "Don't bother. Most of these are out of date. I have more updated ones at the house you may keep."

Hermione saw the clerk following behind Narcissa carrying her assortment of books as they walked to the counter. She was surprised by being politely greeted by one of her classmates who was in the store with her mother. She heard the store offering to send the books to the manor and Narcissa's acceptance as they exited the store.

Narcissa had noticed Hermione's quick surprise at the rather saccharine tone of her classmate and once they were outside, drew her off to a private spot. "No one explained to you that being made the Vesta apprentice lifted your social standing to above a pureblood did they?"

"No, I was told it would make it easier to get a job later on but no." Hermione answered. "Was that why Tracy Davies who normally ignores my existence was so friendly just now?"

"Yes and no. I am sure that Ms. Davies mother was hoping she would be an apprentice because no one in the Davies family has had even an interview as an initiate in years." Narcissa said as they watched the crowd walking around Diagon Alley.

Narcissa quickly drew Hermione into the bistro and ordered them tea before explaining. "You are now going to have to deal with the same scrutiny that Mr. Potter deals with everyday. People are going to try to befriend you for your position not who you truly are. Boys are going to want to date you and maneuver towards a future with you for the position you have."

"I knew it was a bit deal, that it is a great honor and that I would have an easier time regarding being a muggleborn but I had no idea of the rest of it." Hermione said sounding upset.

Patting the young girl on her arm, Narcissa said "I believe that is why I was assigned to be your mentor. I was raised in that life, married someone whose money and lineage meant that I would long be feted for nothing more than who my parents were and who my husband is. It's one of the reasons Draco acts like he does. He doesn't know who is truly his friend and who is his friend because he is a Malfoy."

"Like Harry." Hermione said. "Most look at him and see the boy who lived, not Harry."

"Exactly." Narcissa said. "What is worse than those who are upfront about seeking friendship with their social equal are those who befriend you and then think to take advantage. It happens. My closest friend during school and I stayed friends for years, it was after I was married that I found out that she had long ago wanted to end the friendship but had stayed for who I was and what I could do for her family. I know of at least one instance where it happened to the Potter family as well."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "What happened?"

"A young witch whose family worked for the Potters. She worked hard and studied but it still wasn't enough. She was jealous of James and Lily and spread some very unsavory rumors about Lily who was staying with James, Sirius and another friend for the summer before they got married. She saw Lily getting measured for her wedding gown and since it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride, he sent along his best man as her protector. This witch accused Harry's mother of being a scarlet woman in the middle of the store."

"Oh dear." Hermione felt angry about that even if it had happened over fifteen years ago.

"She publicly tried to shame Lily and claimed that it was all the fault of Lily's muggleborn upbringing. Lily Potter stood her ground and didn't let the verbal assault get to her. At least not while in Diagon Alley. Sirius on the other hand, he told James who confronted the young woman and her husband. I am sure that the woman regretted it but James never forgot that this woman's actions created a black cloud over their wedding as there were some guests who opening spoke of the rumors until he hexed them and ordered them to leave the ceremony."

"You were there?" Hermione asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"In spite of everything going on, yes." Narcissa said leaving out exactly what everything was. A little something like a war didn't interrupt good manners. Lucius and she had attended the Potter Wedding, just like every other wedding of their social equals.

Hermione was itching to write to Harry and to her surprise the minute they exited the bistro a familiar white owl landed on the ledge of a nearby window. "Hello Hedwig."

"You know this owl?" Narcissa asked as she saw the fluffy white owl stick out it's leg to the young girl. Reaching out she couldn't help ruffling the downy feathers and when the owl looked towards her for a treat, she pulled one out of her small clutch handing it over as the bird took flight after hooting at the teenager.

"Okay, I will see you at my house later." Hermione said as the bird soared into the sky.

"You understood him?" Narcissa asked.

"She." Hermione corrected and admitted "It's strange, but yes. Last year when I was in the infirmary after being petrified, Madam Pomfrey said that when Harry was in class and not with me, Hedwig was. She tried to chase her away but that the owl would just return and managed to get past the wards she tried to put up."

VESTA

Lucius thanked the Head Goblin Clerk and went to his private vault. Placing the copies of the Potter files there just in case, he took the miner cart back to the bank lobby and awaited his guest hoping that Draco behaved while with Severus this afternoon. Seeing the man entering the building, he struggled to keep from sneering as he greeted Remus Lupin.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was told this was regarding Sirius Black." Lupin said.

"Follow me. I have Amelia Bones waiting for us in a private conference room. You might be all right with the public knowing your business but I am not." Lucius stated.

Once in the conference room, Amelia shook hands with Lupin and sat down across from the werewolf. "I apologize for the necessity to meet here."

Lupin grimaced, well aware of the laws created by Umbridge to insist that unless they were under arrest werewolves were forbidden entrance to the Ministry. "May I ask why we are meeting?"

"The Minister of Magic insisted on reviewing the files relating to the arrest and conviction of one Sirius Orion Black after the incident at Hogwarts and the plea of one Hermione Granger, Vesta Apprentice." Amelia left out how pressure had been put on the Minister by several rather influential families as a result of the Vesta.

Amelia saw the proud smile that graced the man's face and said "I gather you approve?"

"Hermione Granger is without a doubt the smartest witch of her generation." Lupin replied still feeling the ghost of Hermione's arm when she had spontaneously hugged him at the end of the school year. "Harry couldn't have chosen a better friend. She reminds me of his mother, Lily."

"I happen to agree." Amelia said as she filled both of them in on Hermione's stunt when trying to silence the feuding witches. "She will be a great asset to the magical world when she graduates."

Lucius sighed and said "From what my son rather unwilling admits, she is already a very good asset to Ms. Potter's life."

"Now as to why we are here." Amelia said as she slid the report across to Lupin. "This is Ms Granger and Mr Potter's statements of what happened in the ramshackle shack on the edge of Hogwarts. Please read it and verify if her statements regarding Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Black are correct?"

Remus read the statement and corrected a few spots but looked up to state "Yes, however I do have to say that Severus Snape was trying to protect them even if they didn't realize it at the time. From my vantage point it was rather clear he was sure that Sirius was trying to harm Harry."

"Mr. Snape's statement has been amended to state that he does have a loss of memory. He viewed his own memory in a pensive and after a visit to my office, corrected his statement. He also described the incident at the edge of the forest."

She saw Remus begin to speak and held up her hand. "You are not being charged. It is rather clear that there were extenuating circumstances and Master Snape stated that he should have brought the wolfsbane potions with him, but that in his eagerness to protect the children he also was lax in his duties."

Remus couldn't help wondering what on earth Snape was up to. He knew the wizard hated Sirius, that there was even good reason for his feeling that way so why on earth would he agree to help free him.

"Now, unfortunately I can't do anything about the charges regarding what happened to the Potters without definitive proof other than hearsay about the secret keeper." Amelia stated. "Regarding the deaths of the muggles and Mr. Peter Pettigrew, your friend has been cleared because pensive memories show the man is clearly alive. His escape is being regarded as a simple misdemeanor as long as he agrees to explain how he did it to myself."

Remus was joyful even as he realized that they either had to find a letter from James and Lily regarding the secret keeper or to capture Peter himself but the murder charges were now gone.

"The Minister lifted the kiss on sight order and has removed all memory of Mr. Sirius Black from the dementors. Mr Black would have at most faced ten years for breaking his pact as secret keeper so it would be time served even if he were found guilty, so please let the man know." Amelia stated.

Remus shook hands with the woman who told him no thanks were necessary. "Oh, one more thing to pass on. Barty Crouch Senior was questioned today and though it is believed we can't charge him, we found proof that he was aware there were questions regarding the legality of Mr. Black's incarceration." Amelia said as she exited the conference room.

Remus looked at the blond man still seated and asked "What do you want from Sirius that you got involved in this mess?"

"I want nothing." Lucius replied. "My wife was assigned freeing Mr. Potter from his relatives as a labor for her testing."

"She is a Vesta Initiate?" Remus asked.

"Yes." Lucius replied. "There was some talk about our taking in the boy and I am rather sure that that is the last thing Mr. Potter would want. I am sure my having guardianship authority over him is his worst nightmare so I did some digging around the ministry and talked to the goblin liaison for the ministry. He handed over some files that he thought I might find interesting."

Remus opened the folder and read about the sealed wills and the multiple requests for guidance for the Potter estates. Reading about that mess, he put it aside and moved onto the second file.

Lucius heard the inner werewolf moaning in pain as Lupin read Potter's medical file. "It's being dealt with even as we speak."

When amber eyes looked up, he said "I will tell you after you read the rest of it."

Lupin's eyes went wide as he saw the copy of the letter James had wrote, the certificate regarding Harry's godparents and how he was also listed as a blood godfather. About to protest, he looked at the muggle paperwork attached and his growl became lower and meaner.

"Albus Dumbledore has a lot to answer for. My guess is however in this case, it was just a case of oversight." Lucius replied pointing to the muggle documents. "I only found out about them when Severus asked the Goblins if Lily Potter had left muggle arrangements."

VESTA

Hermione and Narcissa returned to the manor to find Draco exiting the house carrying his broomstick. "Draco a moment of your time, please."

"When I return." He said still trying to escape only to find the door wouldn't open. Angry he turned to face his mother who quietly spoke to Granger before the girl disappeared. "What?"

"You are grounded. You know that you are not allowed to fly your broom until your father gives you permission. Now I was kind enough not to embarrass you in front of Ms. Granger. If she asks, I will say that I asked you to research the spells I need for tomorrow but you, young man are going to the study."

Draco wanted to toss his broom down and throw a temper tantrum but while his mother tended to be more softhearted than his father, she had made it clear the day before that he was pushing the limit with her.

Sticking his broom in the nearby closet, he resisted the urge to snap about a mudblood being in their home just to see how far he could push things.

"Good, now please join us in the study." Narcissa ordered. Draco followed his mother, sulking the entire way as he bitterly wished he hadn't been distracted by snooping around in his mother's study earlier.

Once there, he was ordered to sit on the sofa and then handed a piece of strange paper with a list of charms. "What are these?"

"I suggest you look them up and research them." His mother stated as she sat down across from Hermione at the nearby coffee table. "As I was saying earlier, Hermione, the party will be on the 31st. I am allowed the help of my staff in regards to decorations and such but that is the part that normally I would do myself. We have extensive gardens and greenhouses to choose the flowers from and I don't think that the family has ever thrown out a single dish. We have a dish pantry on the ground floor to choose from."

Draco grumbled at being assigned female work when he saw that the charms were household clearing charms in a book titled How to be the Best Housewife and Mother. Wait, clearing not cleaning? Just what was his mother going to be doing?

When he heard his mother thanking Hermione for her help, he looked up to see that it was almost five in the evening and Granger was telling her mother that her father had plans to barbecue that evening.

"What is that?" Draco rudely asked.

"Cooking on a grill outside while Mom and I laze around in the pool. Mom says that the only time she can get dad to cook is if there is a perceived sense of danger involved." Hermione replied as she placed her notebooks into her bookbag.

"It's dangerous?" Narcissa asked.

"Only to my dad's ego." Hermione answered. "The steak is generally either charcoal or so underdone that all we do is eat the veggies Mom prepares beforehand."

Draco was eyeing Granger and had an idea. She was going to be leaving the house and that might be his escape. He couldn't use a portkey, his father had locked them all up, he was caught every single time he tried to leave the estate by the wards, well earlier that day he had come to realize he could go through the floo if someone else was at the same time.

"Be right back." Draco stated as he rushed from the room and up the stairs. Gathering what he needed to go visit Greg or Vince, Draco returned as quickly as possible after sticking the small bag in the entrance way hall with his broom.

Playing innocent, he followed his mother and Granger to the entrance hall and when his mother was distracted by saying goodbye, he grabbed his bag and broom and hid it behind his robes.

Hermione thanked Narcissa for all she had learned that day and went to stand near the floo. Calling out Granger residence, she waited until the fire turned green and then stepped inside of it.

She heard a strange woosh and was about to turn when she saw her exit and quickly dropped to her knees as she landed in the front parlor. She noticed a strange presence and turned to see what was going on just as she saw Draco who had quickly looked around and then ran for the front door.

She heard the frantic sound of Narcissa's voice through the floo so Hermione ducked her head and said "Draco came through with me, Narcissa."

The woman quietly stated that she would contact Boudica Pomfrey because no one but Hermione was supposed to be able to go through and Narcissa wanted to track down her run away son.

Dan Granger looked at his wife Jean who had joined them then at his daughter. "Hermione, who was that boy?"

"An idiotic prat who I am now going to have to track down." She muttered as she told her parents. "Draco has never been in the muggle world and my guess is that he intends to try and fly on his broom to one of his friend's houses. I heard his mom speaking to him and Draco has been grounded since the end of school this year."

"I will help you." Her father announced while her mother said she would stay so that Narcissa Malfoy could come through the fireplace.

VESTA

Lucius told his wife he would be right home and then turned to speak to his senior department head. "I want a list of what can be pared down by this weekend."

With that, he stepped through the fireplace and into his own entrance way. Seeing his frantic wife waiting, he asked "What happened?"

"I am not sure. Draco came to the entrance way when I walked out Hermione. I think he hid a bag here earlier and he had his broom when I returned from our trip. Hermione threw floo powder in and then called out her home and began to step through when Draco suddenly reached out and held onto the back of her robes and went through himself."

Narcissa saw the fireplace turn green and knelt half hoping to see Draco but was relieved to see Boudica Pomfrey who came through and escorted the Malfoys past the wards they had put on the Granger household.

They entered in time to see a furious looking Draco being escorted into the house with a muggle male holding onto his arm and half supporting him. Their son had a bloody nose and seemed to be limping along with several skin abrasions. "Draco, what happened?"

"The stupid prat ran out the front door and right into the path of a motorcycle. He is lucky it wasn't a muggle car." Hermione announced as she carried in his broom and a travel bag. "Seriously, Draco, right left right, I learned to follow those direction on how to cross a street when I was five."

Lucius used his wand to scan his son and saw that nothing was broken and a simple healing charm would set his leg to rights while Narcissa was standing over her son alternating between scolding him and hugging him. "What on earth were you thinking?"

The blond sat there refusing to speak and when his father said that it was time to go, he refused saying he was NOT GOING HOME. Lucius couldn't believe his son was throwing a fit in front of muggles for merlin's sake. "Draco I don't have time for this. I have important things to get done this evening and you are testing my patience."

"Tough." His son sneered. "I am not going home."

Dan stepped back to let the parents of the young boy deal with him and saw his wife speaking to the tall older woman's whose very stance intimidated him the very first time he met her.

He heard the two women talking and words like spoiled and ignorant were being tossed about but he found himself feeling sorry for the young blond who in spite of his belligerence had a confused and lost look on his face.

"Draconis Lucius Malfoy, we are going home." Narcissa hissed. She was pleased when her son stood but to her shock, he moved over to Hermione's father and grabbed a hold of the older man and muttered a small spell that had her irate enough to consider using her wand on his bottom.

Dan Granger felt an odd sensation and looked at his daughter who was standing nearby with wide eyes as she stared at the blond boy.

"Draco, release Ms. Granger's father this instant." Lucius snapped while his eyes went to his wife curious as to how their son had learned that particular spell. He was already angry at the sight of his son holding onto the wand he had locked in his desk in the study but this was going too far.

"No." Draco said. "If she gets to spend the time that my MOTHER should be spending with me, I am going to return the favor. Just think, Granger. I am going to be your father's new best friend. Who knows maybe I will even go to work with him just like you are working with my mother."

Lucius was now livid but to his shock, Hermione Granger folded her arms in front of her and leaned against the wall. "Go ahead, Draco. You won't last a week in the muggle world. I don't think you will last a day, especially if you go to work with my dad. In fact, I bet that one week here and you will be down on your knees begging your parents to let you return home."

The older blond wizard winced as he watched his son's jaw lock and in spite of the pain in his leg, Draco stiffened. When his son spoke, Lucius cringed as he said "I will take that bet. If I win... if I win, you have to tell Weasley what you really think of him in front of the whole school."

When she just laughed it off, he added in a vicious tone "Under veritiaserum."

He saw her turn a slight shade of green and knew that he had her. While he hadn't been aware of it, Daphne Greengrass and Millicent had been discussing the golden trio recently in the common room and the very observant Daphne had suggested that she only hung around Ron Weasley because of Potter.

"If I win, you will be so nice to Harry that the world will think you are his best friend." Hermione smugly replied.

"Sorry, Ms. Granger, but that is a bit too vague for a magical bet." Madam Pomfrey stated. "It has to be a specific one time event like what Mr. Malfoy suggested."

"Okay, fine. If I win and you survive one week without begging to go home, you have to go to Hogsmead and be nice to anyone of my choosing." Hermoine said.

"Uh girl or boy?" Draco asked. "Oh and no Weasleys."

"Fine. Girl." Hermione said with a wicked smirk on her face as she imagined Draco stuck spending hours with the likes of Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil. Especially if she told them he was being forced to be nice to them.

"You two need to shake on it." Boudica said. "Mr and Mrs. Granger is this alright with you?"

A bit amused at being asked after the fact, Jean asked "Only if someone tells me the outlines of young Mr. Malfoy's being grounded so that we may enforce it for the week he is here."

Draco groaned and listened as his father clipped out. "No wand, no flying, studying his third year text books and cleaning up after himself without magic. No sweets if he wants a snack he is allowed fruit. No butter beer, no visits to friends and most importantly he is required to be polite to all and listen to the adults around him."

The teenager stood there stunned as his parents just left him with two total strangers and Granger who was staring at him like he was a bug she would like to crush after they had removed his wand and broom.

There was silence and then Hermione said "What spell did you use on my dad?"

Flushing, Draco said "It's a babysitting spell that tells parents when their children leave their vicinity. It won't let me be more than fifty feet away and it tells them if I am misbehaving."

"How will he know?" Hermione asked even as she moved to stand in front of Draco. "How long will it last?"

"He will sense if something is wrong and I don't know. I have never cast it before." Draco admitted. When Granger pulled out her wand and fixed his dirty clothes, he heard a drop by the fireplace and noticed that there was a house elf with a small bag.

"Mister Draco your father said you woulds be needing clothes and your text books." With that the elf glared at the boy and said "Yous be being bad, young Dragon and should be having your rear end warmed before a trip to the corner. Eyes not pleased."

Hermione pulled back to stare in shock at the house elf who was wagging its long finger at Draco as he was lectured. The elf then left and she looked at the blond and asked "I thought elves had to obey their masters."

"I'm not his master and he seems to think because he was my nanny he can still tell me what to do." Draco bitterly replied as he looked around the house. "Anyhow, where are we?"

"I suggest you sit down young man and I will fill you in on the house rules." Dan said shaking his head in amusement at what he had just seen. When Draco did as ordered, he said "I am not sure what you are up to but it is rather clear that your parents are at the end of their rope with you. So for the next week, lets give you a taste of what it is like to live as a muggle. Who knows maybe you might like it."

VESTA

Harry heard the sound of Dudley's whines all the way to his room as his mother confiscated the sweets the boy had hidden in his bedroom. He would swear the windows were shaking as Dudley stomped down the stairs demanding his dad stop his mother.

He heard Vernon trying to placate the boy and how even promised of a trip to Blackpool and new games did nothing as Dudley demanded both the return of his sweets and the offered treats.

Returning to his bed, he finished his transfiguration homework and gave a huge sigh of relief. Looking at his list, he saw he had all of his core classes crossed off except for Potions and DADA. He hadn't been assigned anything in Care of Magical Creatures for the summer and frankly he was planning on writing a letter to Professor McGonagall asking about how he went about dropping Divination and taking up something, anything else. Even Muggle studies would be a better option.

Reading the notes for each class, he saw he had crossed off all his questions as well. The next problem was how to deal with Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had sent to Flourish and Blotts for all seven years of the textbooks that Remus Lupin had assigned to his students in hopes that it might fix the mistakes of the past and the more than likely terrible teachers of the future.

Since he didn't have the books yet, that left only Potions and Harry was rather unhappy about doing anything for that particular class. Still, who knows maybe if he reread the books, he might stop making so many mistakes in that class.

Or at least not be so nervous when Snape leaned over him and breathed in his personal space. Pouting a bit, he reached for his first year potions textbook and looking at the questions on his lack of knowledge list, Harry flipped to the introduction something he had skipped originally in all his books. It wasn't until supreme boredom this summer that he had noticed how important they were.

There was the sound of Dudley throwing one last tantrum and then the sound of the metal lid on the trash can being locked in place as Dudley wailed out loud that it wasn't fair, that he didn't have an eating disorder.

Then silence.

Harry was relieved and went back to reading his textbook when it hit him, there was no television noise in the background, no quiet words between his aunt and uncle as they gossiped about the neighbors. Just complete and total silence. Harry was considering going down but recalled his aunt who had renewed her warning about no funny stuff and how he was only allowed out of his room to go to the bathroom, so he went back to making notes as he revised with his first year Potion's textbook.

VESTA

Lucius was still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened when he apparated to the spot that Severus had shown him earlier that day. Seeing the batty woman who was inside the house talking to her cats, he stayed out of sight as directed and moved down the street towards where he was to met Severus, Lupin and Minerva McGonagall.

He had been rather uneasy about going along to pick up Potter until he had heard what Severus had had to say. That afternoon after dropping off Draco he had gone to Privet Drive and had been shocked to realize that the wards didn't guard the boy against someone bearing the dark mark.

Seeing McGongall in her cat form, Lucius looked at the werewolf who was telling the cat that he had sent an owl to Sirius Black. "When does Albus return?"

"Two days." She replied once back in human form. "I might be able to keep him distracted but you need to do the ceremony as soon as possible and get those muggles to allow the wards to be removed."

"Not a problem." Remus replied as he gave each of them a critical once over. "Malfoy, most muggles don't have long hair. At least not the males so much anymore."

With that, Malfoy put a charm on his head to shorten the length of his locks and then changed the color to a less noticeable shade of blond. "Better?"

"You should change your robes as well." He suggested.

Malfoy used a charm to change into a muggle equivalent of his dress work robes and frowned as he looked down at the suit he was now wearing. "How do they move around in these tight clothes they insist on wearing?"

Severus rolled his eyes at his childhood friend and said "They aren't tight, Lucius. You just aren't used to them. Now, let's go get Potter out of there."

Minerva sent a notice me not charm on the house as they heard shouting inside. Severus used an eavesdropping charm and said "Wait, let this play out."

A few minutes later, the boy was still whining and Lucius who had a low tolerance level after dealing with his own misbehaving son used the alohamora charm to open the door.

Entering the house that looked the same as all others around it, he sneered in disgust at the obese man stuffing his face with sugar snacks while his equally obese son whined about wanting some and complaining about someone lying about his being fat. In the doorway to another room, a thin woman who resembled a startled gerenuk.

When it looked as if she was about scream, Remus in an almost lackadaisical tone said silencio.

Lucius put up a sound bubble and looked around the ground floor of the muggle home. Unlike the Granger home that he had been earlier, there was a coldness, an almost pristine cleanness that spoke to a rottenness underneath that sickened him.

There were lots and lots of photos on the walls and mantle, every single one of them centered around the obese boy now frozen in the parlor. He found no evidence that there was anyone other than the three of them living there. Not a single photo existed of Harry Potter.

Lifting one picture that had the obese boy with an equally obese man who was not his father, Lucius was about to ask who it was when he noticed that it wasn't a man but a woman. "I wonder if this is the woman Potter inflated. No wonder she floated with that much hot air in her."

Minerva was beginning to doubt the wisdom of bringing these wizards with her, as she saw Lupin sniff the air and go to the front cupboard under the staircase. The Werewolf snapped the lock with simply his hands and knelt down to peer inside.

She heard the angry growl and then the man reached inside to gather something before backing out. She saw the paper with the words Harry's room on them and a few small assortment of what looked like broken toys and stepped between him and the two muggles.

While she was dealing with wolf who was after the person who hurt a member of his pack, she felt a sense of relief at how calm Severus was. He was simply staring at Lily's sister.

If only she knew, Severus had used a silent legilmency spell to look into the mind of Lily's sister and what he saw there had him vowing that after the magical world had forgotten about these horrid muggles he would be back and he would take great delight in ruining them in ways yet unimaginable before convincing them that death would be their only way out of their misery.

He saw one single cheerful sight, Sirius Black, at his worst had paid the Dursleys a visit and it had frightened them badly enough with his threat of being nearby watching for them to have a bowel release even as they agreed to leave the boy alone.

"Where is Potter?" Lucius was asking.

"Up the stairs and to your left. The door with the cat flap and the locks." Severus said in an even tone. "Go tell him to pack everything, he won't be staying here ever again."

Remus was about to go upstairs when Severus stopped him with one word. "Stay."

The angry growl had Severus smiling as he sent Petunia the image of what Remus looked like in full on werewolf mode. He could smell her reaction as she peed on her spotless kitchen floor. "Minerva, go outside."

"Severus, I am not so sure that is a good idea."

"Go, you don't want to see what happens next." He stated and he saw her hesitation so he said "They will live and there will be nothing that will prove we baited the helpless muggles."

Minerva left and Severus looked at Lupin. "Sirius paid them a visit before he left for only Merlin knows where. He did some digging into the wards. You will have to crash them because they have a built in warning system if Lucius or I try to do it. The crystal that they are centered on is on the mantle."

Once the werewolf was distracted and Lucius was upstairs doing some digging before they retrieved Potter, Severus began to quietly cast the nastiest delayed timing hexes he knew. Most were temporary spells that would end and hours or days later, just as the muggles were sure their nightmare was over, something else would happen.

VESTA

Harry was beginning to find the silence unnerving and decided to take a quick peek to make sure that no one was there of a magical nature. Opening the door just a hint, he heard one of his relatives in the master bedroom so he went to the staircase to look and see what was going on.

To his surprise he saw the television was on but he couldn't hear anything and neither his aunt or uncle were visible which was strange. Feeling a bit odd, he returned to his room and hesitated before bypassing his wand and grabbing his Firebolt, which would do enough damage if he hit someone with it hard enough.

Returning to the stairs, he stealthily descended in time to see what looked like two muggles. Lifting his broom as he arrived on the bottom step a mere foot away from the dark haired one with his back to him, he was using all his strength to crash it down on the burglar's head when it suddenly refused to budge.

Looking up, he saw that it refused to move and then he heard "Severus, I would pay more attention to your surroundings. The boy almost took you out with his broom."

Startled Harry let go of his broom and spun around to find Lucius Malfoy standing behind him pointing his wand at him while his broom continued to hover in the air. The older wizard pointed his wand at the broom and calmly said finite incantatem.

Instinctively, Harry looked up just in time to see his broom descend and the last thing he saw was stars as he was hit in the front of his head and knocked out. He heard three very different masculine voices calling out his name at the same time as his head which was already concussed connected with what felt like a bludger. As he blacked out, Harry heard someone muttering about how was he going to explain this one to his wife and that was the last thing he remembered.

TBC


	5. I'm A Little Teapot

A/N: I have almost sixty pages written and didn't want to break them up. It took two days to decide where to end this chapter. So we have two more completed chapters to be posted possibly Monday and Tuesday. Oh, there is a bit of Dumbledore bashing, but it is more of a set up for the old man to realize that times have moved on in later chapters than real bashing. He isn't evil, just old. Oh, and anyone who ends up with an 'ear worm' at the end of this chapter, I apologize and must confess that this ended up in here because my six year old has been singing this song all week. Not even the words to it's a small world has been able to overcome my daughter's new favorite song.

Chapter Five

Draco stood in the parlor, staring at the fireplace, still surprised that his parents had just agreed to leave him here, in MUGGLE HOUSE! He turned to see a smirk on Granger's face and scowled at her. "What?"

"Just imaging you on a date with Lavender Brown. A very talkative Lavender who would drag you all over Hogsmead." She said in a cheery tone.

With a shrug he pointed out. "It can't be any worse than Pansy inviting herself along when I went to the village this year. Plus, at the end of the day, Lavender won't be following me around the dungeons and trying to sneak into our dorm room."

"Draco, why don't you see if your parents sent you swim trunks." Jean Granger suggested while mentally reminding herself to mention what she just heard to the boy's parents. "We will be lounging around the pool until dinner time. If not, maybe a pair of shorts?"

Draco looked in the bag and was relieved to see his swim trunks. Pulling them out, he was told to take his bag to the first floor and stick it in the room with the blue walls. Doing so, he quickly changed into his trunks and looked around the home that for the most part didn't look too different than his if smaller and less ornate.

Hearing a knock, he opened the door and quickly shut it again to keep from sticking his foot in his mouth. Hearing Granger knocking, he yanked the door open and snapped "What?"

"What is your problem?" She asked glaring at him.

"What the heck is that thing on your head?" He snickered pointing to the blue rubber cap covering her hair.

"It's a swim cap, Draco. It's so that my hair doesn't get wet and the chlorine in the pool doesn't dry it out." Seeing his confusion, she sighed and said "Wet from swimming. When it gets wet, it creates split ends."

After a round and round discussion, Hermoine just rolled her eyes wanting peace, muttering a hair charm while holding her wand to her hair and asked "Better now?"

"I guess, but what is on your feet?" Hermione grabbed his arm and ignored his question, practically dragging him down the stairs. In the kitchen, she pointed at the white cube thing and said "Grab drinks from the refrigerator while I grab the sun screen from the downstairs bathroom."

Draco had no idea what she was talking about, but after open and closing a few doors, he found things that resembled magical drinks and was holding them when she returned.

"Draco, not those. That is beer." she said. Seeing his confusion yet again, she said "Its like the difference between butter beer and fire whiskey. Grab the bottles labeled coke in the refrigerator. There are also a couple of bottles of grape soda you might like."

Out at the pool, Hermione set down their drinks and the sun screen before removing her cover up, feeling a bit nervous, well aware of how sarcastic Draco could be.

"Why are you swimming in your bra and panties?" Hermione walked over to the sun umbrella and banged her head against the metal, musing about how soothing it was. "Granger?"

Looking at Draco, she wearily said "This is a muggle bikini, it is my normal summer swim wear. I don't have any one piece suits or I would change into one."

"Don't bother on my account." The blond said as he looked at the pool and then with a smirk performed a perfect dive and swam towards the deep end. When he had lapped the pool, he returned and said "Why is the water blue?"

"It's the chlorine." She replied while kicking off her sandals and moving towards the shallow end so that she could ease into the fairly warm water. "It's a chemi-er a potion that cleaned out any imperfections in the water."

"Oh." With that, he returned to swimming laps. Hermione was edging towards the deep end of the pool when she saw her parents exiting the house carrying the steaks and other dinner items.

Hermione was relieved that Draco seemed occupied, so she began to swim some laps of her own only to stop when she felt something brush her arm. Looking over, she saw Draco had stopped swimming and was pointing at something. Removing her ear plugs, she looked at him. "Hermione, what is that?"

Looking up at the sky, she blinked for a second and then answered. "It's a hot air balloon. There is an old wheat field out that way that they land in."

"What's that?" He asked as he tread water. "A hot air balloon, I mean."

"A large sort of charmed cloth that uses helium to stay in the air. The brown thing below is a wicker basket in which the pilot and guests stand in." She said and saw he seemed to accept that, so she started to swim off only to be stopped again. "What is it Draco?"

"What's helium?" Hermione quickly explained helium is a chemical element that is odorless tasteless inert gas that allows balloons to float in the air.

"Oh." He replied and went back to swimming laps so she put in the ear plugs to keep water from her ears and began to swim laps.

Hermione had just about finished her own laps, when she saw Draco freeze and then sink below the surface of the water. The blond came back up to the surface with a completely panicked expression on his face. Removing her ear plugs, she said "What is it?"

She heard the distant sound of sirens and calming the blond down said "It's only a fire truck."

"What is that noise and why is a fire truck coming here? Is it because that silver thing you dad is cooking on is on fire?" He asked.

"That sound is the fire truck siren, it's not coming here, from the sound of it it is heading towards the mall and what do you mean the..." Hermione whirled to see that the flame shooting out of the grill and her mother rushing over with the fire extinguisher.

When Draco asked what that red thing was, Hermione groaned and began to explain about carbon and oxygen. When Draco seemed to understand, all she could think was that this was going to be a very long week and that she really, really hoped that Lavender or Parvati drove him insane.

VESTA

Harry woke up and felt the soft hand brushing his hair away from his forehead and moaned that his head hurt. Trying to open his eyes all he saw was any inky darkness so he just let his eye lids flutter closed, ignoring the nice voice telling him to open his eyes.

Someplace in a distant part of his brain, his body recognized that wherever he was he was safe and in a soft bed, that he was no longer at the Dursley house on Privet Drive. Keeping his eyes closed, trying to take inventory of his injuries, Harry slowly wiggled his feet and legs, declared them okay, moved his arms and hands with a sense of relief.

Since second year when that fraud Lockhart had removed his bones, he was always relieved to know that his bones even when they ached were where they belonged. He turned his head from left to right and felt dizzy, so he knew whatever happened, it involved his head.

Struggling to sit up, he wiggled around in the bed because whoever had tucked him in had wrapped the blankets tightly around his body. As his brain caught up with his body, he gasped, stopped moving and muttered in a horrified tone "Where are my clothes?"

There was a familiar sounding voice in the room which quickly answered. "The rags that you call clothes were incinerated in the fireplace. Now, go back to sleep."

Harry found that he was really exhausted and in spite of the fact he was naked, he agreed to do as the voice said. Rolling to his side, feeling the strangeness of being naked, he yawned and asked "What happened to my head?"

"Go to sleep, we will talk in the morning, Harry." The voice was different than the first but the warmth he could hear was familiar.

"Okay." With that, Harry obeyed the voice and drifted off to sleep, unaware of his audience of four. The dark haired teen pulled the pillow over his head and was soon burrowing under the covers, all the while muttering that he was having the worst dream. "I swear I saw Snape and Malfoy on Privet Drive."

Narcissa looked at Boudica Pomfrey who was glaring at an unrepentant Severus Snape. "Is he going to be okay? Was there any brain damage?"

Hearing the potion's master scoff, Narcissa turned on her husband's friend and said "Not a sound out of you. How could you let this happen?"

Holding up his hands in surrender, Severus looked at the elderly healer and asked why Potter was still disoriented.

"I'm not sure." She admitted as she moved to the side of the bed. Looking at the sleeping boy, she ran a medical scan and said "He needs some nutrient potions but doesn't appear to have starved this summer. The pain potion he was given earlier is now out of his system. The bruise on his head in healing quite nicely. It might be as simple as he needs to sleep."

"I know you want me here to explain things to Harry when he wakes up, but Sirius arrives back in Britain today." Lupin said in an uneasy tone. "I think it might be better if I go retrieve him before he manages to wreck havoc on our plans."

"Severus can... no, I guess he can't." Narcissa said in a frustrated tone. "Lu, no, that won't work. Hermione and I have to meet the Goblin cleaning crew at Black manor and they don't like to be kept waiting. I can't send Lucius and frankly the Goblins would quit the moment you were sarcastic with them, Severus."

"It's simple my dear Narcissa. Mr. Lupin may go retrieve Mr. Black. Lucius will go let Amelia know that Mr. Black is returning. Severus will be in charge of Mr. Potter while Ms. Granger and yourself will attend to your obligations." Boudica announced. "I will stay here to babysit Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape."

When Lucius let out a soft chuckle, Snape's poison filled glare switched from the elderly woman to the blond wizard who was standing near the fireplace where he had just burnt the last of Potter's rags.

Narcissa heard footsteps and saw Hermione being guided by one of the house elves into the guest room. "Hermione, Mr. Potter is asleep on the bed."

Before she even finished the weary looking girl rushed over to check on her friend. All in the room were amused when the teenager began scanning the large bruise on Harry's forehead. Ending the scan, she turned to demand to know what happened?

"Potter forgot he was a wizard and attacked us with his broom." Lucius replied only to struggle against the need to back away from the angry expression in the brown eyes of the teenage girl. He saw Severus smirk and knew that his friend had seen him flinch, so he like any good Slytherin said "He thought your Potion's professor was a burglar."

When the young girl turned to demand answers from Severus, Lucius retreated as slowly as could to make sure no one thought he was scared of a fourteen year old girl. Once outside the door, he was leaning against the threshold only to see an amused expression on his wife's face.

"You have faced the Dark Lord but a teenage girl scares you?" she asked smirking at her husband.

"I have already been routed by one teenager this week and the only reason I am not laying on that bed recovering from a concussion is that that boy forgot to use his wand. A third loss to a teenager would be emasculating." He said as he leaned down to kiss his wife goodbye before quickly fleeing at the sound of said young woman now demanding from the werewolf answers as to how he could let Harry get hurt.

VESTA

Harry woke up to the familiar feeling of Hermione's hair tickling his nose. He could hear her speaking softly to someone. "Are you sure, Professor?"

"Yes. Now, we placed Harry's cloak and wand along with the map in his bag but Narcissa is insisting on replacing his clothes." Harry heard Professor Lupin's voice but still frowned because as he looked around the rather ornate and spacious bedroom, he had no idea where he was.

"Harry?" Looking over at the sound of the voice, he saw an older woman who moved forward to scan him with her wand. When she saw him flinch, she said "It's fine, Mr. Potter. I am a healer."

"W-where am I? Am I at St. Mungos?" He asked looking around. "No, I guess not, most hospitals don't look like this."

Wondering why Hermione wasn't talking, he looked down to see she had been stunned. Desperate to find out who did it, he heard Lupin announcing he would be back later with a surprise before admitting he had to leave and for Harry to obey Professor Snape.

"Wait! Who did this to Hermione?" He asked ignoring the statement about Snape who had been silently leaning against the window pane all this time.

"I did, Mr. Potter." the pretty woman with the odd two toned hair said as she moved forward. Harry thought she looked strangely family as she said "I was worried she would accidentally hit you in the head and we really don't want you to fall back asleep."

Harry heard her release Hermione who in typical fashion began to speak about a hundred different subject at the same time including something about Draco almost frying himself by sticking a knife in a plugged in toaster.

Blinking almost certain his concussion was worse than he thought as he listened to his best friend telling him about how she had spent the entire night trying to explain about everyday ordinary muggle household items to the pureblood.

"Ms. Granger, I do believe that Narcissa and yourself have an appointment this morning. Madam Pomfrey and I will fill Mr. Potter in on what has been going on these past weeks." Boudica suggested, knowing that the boy needed peace and quiet and that he was too into the young woman to politely suggest she let him sleep.

"Oh, I wrote him two days ago. He just needs updated on the last two days." she replied to her potion's professor and then to his bemusement, she pulled out a list of notes, itemized by importance and with subcategories. With that, she pressed a kiss to a blushing Harry's left cheek and then scooted back off the bed and promised to be back later to explain anything that their professor missed.

The room went silent as they heard the soprano tones of Hermione and Narcissa as they walked down the hallway, still discussing Harry and his injury until the voices faded away.

Severus looked at Potter and asked "How do you feel Potter?"

"Like I have a lot more sympathy for that troll in the girl's bathroom first year." He said with a grimace.

"Troll?" Boudica looked at Snape.

"Long story involving the Flamels, the Headmaster and a possessed DADA teacher." He replied as he shoved himself off the wall and moved over to where Potter was laying. "Do you feel up to taking a shower?"

"I thought you said they burnt my clothes?" He asked his eyes darting to the older woman. Healer or not, he didn't like that he was naked under the covers, especially since Hermione had been curled up next to him.

"They did but Narcissa revels in shopping and in the closet over there you will find what she considers the minimum necessary until fall." Snape replied. "We will wait outside until you let us know you are in the bathroom over there."

Looking towards where Snape was pointing, Harry saw another door. When he saw the boy's eyes on the door, Snape added "We both will return just in case you pass out again."

VESTA

Dr. Granger found the teenage boy amusing as he walked from the car into his practice. The boy had been full of questions, had listened to the answers and had remarkably polite. Considering how rude his daughter described him to be in her letters and how obnoxious he had been to his parents, Dan found it hard to reconcile the two.

Once they were inside the building, he saw their young receptionist waiting and said "Draco, I have to speak to Beverly. If you like there is a desk through that door over there for you work on your school assignments."

Draco went inside the room as directed, his mind racing. Since after dinner the night before, no, even before that, since the moment his parents had left, he had been shocked at how different things were in spite of how similar things looked at first glance.

Muggles had ways of doing things that shocked him. Food that heated instantly in a square box that dinged with it was ready. Toothbrushes that worked with electricity. Rooms that lit up with just the flick of a switch and without candles. That cooled and heated with yet another switch. Last night had been surprising this morning had been eye opening.

Machines that toasted your bread and made something called smoothies. Mrs. Granger had promised to send the recipe back home with him. To his surprise, he liked the two muggles who raised Granger even if he felt oddly out of place in their world.

Granger however, she had seemed annoyed with him this morning. At first he had believed it was because he was going to spend the day with her parents at their office, but when he had taunted her about it, she had only smugly grinned at him and said that they would see if he was still so eager to return to the dental practice the next day.

Pulling out his transfiguration textbook that Hermione had charmed so that if anyone looked at it they would see a French textbook, he gave a heavy sigh and tried to reread the first chapter.

"Problems Draco?" The blond turned to see Jean Granger now entering the room carrying some weird sacks with orange lettering Dunkin Donuts.

"Just that I hate my dad is forcing me to revise my transfiguration class. I was fourth in it overall, but he wasn't happy." He replied as he flipped through the pages. Almost as if it burst forth, the boy said "I did fine in the reading and the homework, even the tests. It's just the practical I can't do."

"Practical is where you turn matches into needles and animals into tea pots, right?" She asked wanting to be sure she was correct.

"Yes. I'm fine in the dorm but then Professor McGonagall stands in front of me and poof, it all goes away." He gloomily replied. "I can't figure out why my dad is making me reread my book, it is not going to help.

Jean sat down across from the boy she had impulsively offered to help and said "In the muggle world, there is something similar. Sometimes when students have to take a test, they freeze up. Most teachers will help if you tell them the problem."

"But McGonagall is the Gryffindor head of house, she won't help me. I'm in Slytherin." He said.

"If that is true, I am going to be very unhappy. As a teacher, she has a professional obligation to assist any student who needs her help. If they ask that is." She added then taking out the cream colored drink, she placed it in front of Draco and said "It's a Vanilla bean frozen drink. Since you enjoyed the ice cream so much last night, I thought I would bring you one of these. Oh, and in that bag, are a few muffins."

With that, she removed the promised pens and papers having explained to Draco that quills weren't really used in the muggle world. "It's a fountain pen, it uses ink just like your quill."

Heading to her office, she heard her husband going over their schedule with their dental hygienist and closed the door to allow the boy to work in peace.

VESTA

Sirius Black exited the muggle jet plane, vowing never again even as he threw away the phone number of the pretty young thing that had set next to him the entire trip from the Azores. Looking around the confusing terminal, he saw Moony standing nearby and loped over and threw his arms around the wizard. "How did you manage this?"

"Follow me. I will explain once we are someplace private." Remus replied. Outside of the airport, he made a right turn in the car that to his shock belonged to the Malfoys and pulled off onto the side road.

"What happened?" Sirius demanded. "Where is Harry? I thought you were going to bring Harry."

"Harry had a little accident." He saw Sirius start to tense up and holding his hand up stopped the burst of questions. "We went to retrieve him at the Dursleys and he thought we were burglars and he almost clocked Snape with his broom."

Hearing Sirius burst into laughter at that news, Remus ruefully said "It's not funny, Padfoot. Malfoy used a freeze charm to stop him and when Harry heard him saying finite incantatem, he instinctively looked up. Malfoy, Snape and I all went to save him at the same time and ended up knocking him out."

"WHAT?!" Sirius asked.

"He's fine." Remus hastily reminded him. "In fact when I left him, he was curled up in a huge bed with Hermione tucked up next to him, hugging him so tightly I am rather surprised he could breath."

"I don't trust Malfoy or Snivillous any further than I can throw either of them the muggle way." Sirius darkly muttered.

"I have something I want you to read." Remus said. "I found several different formed of independent verification, Sirius. A copy was located in my family vault. I never go in it, I should have years ago. I could have been there for Harry much sooner if I had."

Sirius read the records, not really surprised by the Dumbledore manipulations. He had spent the few weeks he had been gone wondering about some of this and coming up with answers he didn't like. He just didn't know the why even if he now knew the how.

He read about Remus having been named as one of Harry's guardians in the muggle world by James and Lily which left a bad taste in his mouth. The Headmaster went on and on about equal rights but it was rather clear that he only was concerned with equal rights when it benefited him or his causes.

The note about Severus had him confused until he was silently handed a letter from James and Lily to the Slytherin that had Sirius recalling just how precarious the situation had been twelve and a half years ago. Just folding the letter that asked Severus to take care of Harry if their side lost had Sirius closing his eyes and apologizing to his friends for his mistakes.

"There is another issue." Remus said sitting back in the seat and looking over at Sirius. "Malfoy found a certificate of parentage at the Ministry."

Opening his eyes, he looked over at Remus wondering about the odd tone. Heck, even he had a certificate of parentage, every half-blood or pureblood did. Even some muggleborns had one due to blood adoptions or magical relations.

Remus handed it over. It stated what Sirius would expect. Father James, mother Lily. "I'm listed as blood godfather since a week after Harry was born."

"I was thinking about the date. I remembered why recently." Remus said. "Don't you remember. Peter holding Harry, you ending up getting cut saving Harry when he 'accidentally' dropped him. You dived and caught him before he hit the ground, getting cut on your forehead. Come to think of it, it was the last time Lily ever let Peter hold Harry."

"So magic knew he was a Death Eater?" He asked.

"Magic at least knew he had intended to harm our godson." Remus said sadly.

"Wait, when the records changed, the ministry would have automatically sent out a new certificate." Sirius protested.

"It did. Malfoy found a charm on the file. Any changes were sent to...you guessed it, one Albus Dumbledore." Remus said sadly.

"Why? James and Lily had a mail drop." Sirius said. "It would have been safe for them to get their mail."

"It's one of the many, many questions I would like to ask that old man." Remus said tiredly. "The thing is, Lucius didn't tell Severus but the second name, his appearing, was when Severus tried to refuse to tell his master where Lily would hide. Thirteen years ago, Sirius."

"If he is Harry's blood godfather..." Sirius struggled with his anger at Snape, the idea that the man was treating Harry the way he was because of something that James and he had done, sickened him.

"Something interesting came up with that too." Remus said. "I will let Malfoy tell you what he found on Snape. It goes back to the war."

"Just tell me." Sirius said not able to take much more.

"He Who Must..Merlin, I promised myself not to use that idiotic title, Voldemort put a charm on Snape. If it had worked, if Voldemort had killed Harry, he wanted Lily's brains and was using Snape's old crush. Poor man is dealing with a lot of frozen emotions for the last fourteen years, Sirius."

Shuddering as he imaged how the evil git had intended to use Snape to control Lily, Sirius said. "Anything else?"

"There is a controlled rage in Malfoy when he talked about your side of the Black family and Bellatrix. Whatever it is about, he will more than likely confront you about it at some point soon." Remus replied.

"Damn Slytherins. Why can't they be more like us Lions." Sirius said.

Remus was quiet as he turned the engine on and then back off. "Albus told me something at the beginning of the year. I think at the time it was done to manipulate me. At least now. He had requested I stay silent about my connections to Harry's family. He was saying how Harry was very unlike James, how he wasn't sure that Harry didn't have some of Voldemort's traits. He said that the sorting hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin."

"What?" Sirius looked over in shock. "But..."

Sirius went quiet, he loathed the house of the snakes because most of his family had been in it, Voldemort had been the heir of it's founders. Now Remus was telling him that his godson who spoke parseltongue almost ended up in Slytherin in spite of the Potter family's ancestry going back to Godric himself.

"What I missed then and what you are missing is two things." Remus stated. "First, that Lily once confessed that the sorting hat considered putting her in Slytherin. That it told her the only reason it didn't was the current prejudice of those in that house."

"I never knew that." Sirius said looking at Remus.

"I did, I don't think Albus was." Remus said with a low chuckle. "Anyhow, that is the first, the second is that as a teacher, I can almost look at the students I had last year and tell you who lives in an abused home. Sirius, children who grow up like that. They learn to hide who they really are, they develop almost two separate personalities. One that tries to prevent the abuse by being cunning and secretive. The other side is ambitious because they want to never go back to that abusive situation unless they save themselves. Traits that Albus knows or should know after seventy five years at Hogwarts."

"He wanted to distance you to Harry." Sirius said as he recalled his own thoughts on the island. Soaking it all in, he said "I want to see my godson."

"We thought you would say that." Remus replied and called out for Tipsy. When the house elf appeared, he asked it to take them straight to the manor.

"Wait what..." Sirius found himself no longer in the sedan, but outside a large estate home, ducking an angry albino peacock. When Remus pulled out his wand and sent a confundous charm at the charging bird, Sirius looked around and said "That answers that, only Malfoy would have attack birds."

"We brought Harry here last night." Remus replied as they strolled across the large expanse of garden towards the Cotswold stone house.

VESTA

Across the country at the Burrow, Ron and the twins were heading in from their small Quidditch pitch talking about the fun they would have once Harry joined them the first week of August.

Ron mentioned writing to Harry and separated from his brothers to find his mother and sister arguing in the kitchen. With a grimace, he grabbed a piece of the freshly baked cake on the table and went up to his room rather glad he wasn't a girl.

His mother had decided that Ginny needed to learn household charms for when she was older and married. His sister had pitched a right fit furious that her brothers had not been required to learn those charms when they had been her age.

His mother had simply pointed out that once the boys got married they wouldn't need those charms, after all it was the wife's job to take care of the home and that her boys would be living at the family home until they got married.

Getting comfortable, amused at he heard Ginny's wails of anger Ron sat down and wrote Harry a short letter to bolster his emotions for the remainder of the time he was stuck living with muggles.

Thinking on the news he had overheard between his parents about Ludo Bagman having offered the family free tickets to the World Cup, Ron finished the piece of cake and went downstairs to grab another one.

Vesta

Narcissa was shivering as they stood inside the front entrance of the Black city home. She had unlocked the door for the Goblins who had rushed inside and had immediately heard the sound of her aunt screeching at them.

Just as she began to worry that she was flashing back to that terrible night, silence filled the air. Stepping inside with caution, she saw that the scariest of the Goblins had rendered her aunt silent and was looking at the troll leg umbrella stand.

"Worth-4 galleons." The Goblin said to his compatriot. "Remove to standing platform, have the curse breakers check it over and then release to auction house."

Looking over at Hermione who was staring at the umbrella stand with a disgusted expression on her face, Narcissa placed her hand on her arm and said "I fear that won't be the worst of it. I am sure I recall dead house elves mounted on the wall someplace in this nightmare."

There was a shout from inside the house and then what sounded like a small battle before several strange helps were heard. The head of the Goblin crew ordered his cohort to go find out what was going on before moving to stand in front of the two women in a defensive position to protect them from whatever was causing the commotion.

Hermione heard Narcissa gasp out the name Dobby and turned to look at the two goblins who were coming down the hall. One was holding a strange creature about thirty inches tall with very thin arms and legs but a large head. He had bright green eyes and was wearing what looked like doll clothes and odd bright yellow and orange socks.

Another goblin entered this time carrying a second elf who looked old and wizened even as he fought to free himself from the two warrior goblins. The elf was muttering dark threats and that his mistress would poison the interlopers.

Hermione heard the short almost desperate gasps of the aristocratic woman with her and knew something had once again overwhelmed her about this house. Unable to deal with how the house elf was upsetting her mentor, Hermione pulled her wand and snapped at the second house elf. "Stop speaking. Just shut up."

"Filthy mudblood, my mistress..."

The first house elf, snapped his fingers and snarled "YOU WILL RESPECT Harry Potter's Miss Grangy."

Hermione's eyes went wide. She had never met the little house elf who had tried to protect Harry but had ended up almost killing him but it was rather clear that he knew her as he lectured the elf he was calling Kreacher.

"Dobby? You are Dobby, correct?" Hermione looked at the house elf who looked over at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, Harry Potter's Miss Grangy, I watched my new master at Hogwarty and saw he wanted the rat man captured. I tracked rat man to this house. Rat man tried to hide from me." Dobby said with a chuckle that was slightly sinister as he told tales of using cheese to lure out rat man.

"Rat man?" Hermione asked then her eyes went wide as she put the pieces together. "Wait, Peter Pettigrew is here?"

With a sharp nod and a smile, Dobby said "Yes, Harry Potter's Miss Grangy. Rat man is here. I caught him, he is my new toy until I get my master away from bad muggles."

"Dobby?" Narcissa Malfoy had heard the story from her husband about Harry freeing the house elf and she had been torn between anger at Harry who hadn't known the whole story and grateful to the boy who had in a way freed her from part of her past. "Where is rat man?"

"Not answering you." Dobby spat out.

"I understand Dobby but I just want the Goblins to take rat man to the aurors. He did bad things." She said unable to meet the house elf's eyes. At one time, Dobby had been her elf, until that fateful night he had obeyed her father, his true master back then. The night he had delivered her to this house to be killed.

When Dobby began muttering about bad mistress, Hermione gathered her courage and stepped up to ask "Dobby, where is rat man? If we take rat man to the woman in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Harry would be very, very happy. He wouldn't have to go back to the bad muggles he lives with in the summer."

"Don't trust bad ex-mistress." The house elf spat out as he looked at Narcissa who glared right back at him. The elf looked at Hermione and then at the Goblins before snapping his fingers and the next thing Hermione knew, she was in the ugliest kitchen she had ever seen with things clearly living in the cupboards.

The house elf who apparated right beside her reached out for a small wooden box and then for Hermione's arm and then with a snap of his fingers they left the ugly room and landed on top of a desk right in front of four people.

Hermione saw the shock on Amelia Bone's face even as she saw the tall bald wizard and pink haired witch in the room reaching for their wands. The fourth man just sat there staring at the filthy looking house elf and the young woman wearing muggle jeans and a t-shirt he had met mere days earlier in his office office.

"Miss Granger what is the meaning of...Oh Merlin." The house elf had returned a box to full size and then with a snap of his fingers a grown man with a recognizable face began begging for forgiveness.

The man saw the stunned reactions and with a quick reach for a wand began to turn himself back into a rat only to hear a loud growl. The man whose mannerisms now resembled the rat he had spent decades as was shocked when he wasn't able to return to his animagus form.

"You bastard..." Hermione had her wand out and was pointing it at the rat. "Tell them, tell them the truth."

"Hermione, nice Hermione, Harry's friend..." The rat suddenly had boils on his face as the teenager shouted out the correct hex. "Okay, okay. It was me, I was the Potter's secret keeper. I was scared, he ordered me to..."

Peter once again tried to regain his rat form and Hermione's emotions which were out of control as a result of very little sleep, shouted out the words to transfigure the rat into a tea pot.

The four adults stood there for a moment, then Amelia gently removed the wand from the emotional teenager while the Minister of Magic sat there stunned as he stared at the impossible.

"Kingsley, get Croaker up to my office immediately." Amelia ordered. "Tonks go to an open floo and go to this address. Tell Professor McGonagall that I need her skill."

"What do I tell Croaker? You know he hates to be summoned." Kingsley asked.

"What do you think you tell him? You tell him that a fourteen year old girl in my office just managed the impossible and we might have a new mystery for him to solve." She snarled.

Amelia turned to the house elf to ask him who he belonged to but the elf waved at her and just disappeared from her office. Looking at the five foot nothing impossibly transfigured teapot, she shook her head and let out a small chuckle. "Well, Boudica said that you were up to Potter's level with magic, Ms. Granger but this one, should be impossible for even you."

Hearing a knock on her door, Amelia saw her assistant ducking her head in and asked "Yes."

"Madam, your ten thirty with Mr. Malfoy."

Looking between Pettigrew the teapot, the completely flabbergasted Minister and the scared teenager, she said "Send him in. this Circus only needs a clown pretending to be a ring master."

Lucius strolled into the Head of the DMLE's office and with a raised eye brow at the odd statue inquired "You caught Pettigrew?" as if it was an everyday event to see a human transfigured into a tea pot.

Kingsley entered with the Head Unspeakable who encircled the man/tea pot and began to rub his hands together. "Has anyone checked to see if he is hollow inside?"

That was the last word spoken as the Unspeakable began to run diagnostic scans on Pettigrew. A few minutes later, Aurur Trainee Tonks entered her bosses office with an annoyed McGonagall who was about to demand answers when she stopped at the sight of Pettigrew.

"What happened to him?" She asked as Croaker lowered his wand and began to shake his head.

"From what I can decipher, Ms. Granger sent a spell at this, uh, gentleman at the same time as Harry Potter's house elf used old elven magic on him. Ms. Granger, may I ask why is the uh, gentleman's arms sticking out the way they are." All eyes except Hermione's went to Pettigrew who had one arm sticking straight out at a forty five degree angle and pointing to the sky while the other was on his hip to form a tea pot handle.

For Hermione it was too much. For the last few weeks her life had been incredible from the stand point of a teenage witch, but still it had had an air of a fairy tale to it. The last night, instead of the much needed sleep she required she had spent it sitting in the den, explaining television to an excited Draco Malfoy who had questioned everything and she meant everything.

She would never be able to watch her favorite cartoons again without hearing his voice asking why and how all night.

She had arrived at the Malfoy manner to be told Harry was there and then on the way to the Black house in London had been told by Narcissa what the plan was for Harry's future if he acceded to their suggestions. Then at the house that had seemed to be full of darkness, they had found the rat who had betrayed Harry's parents.

When the man in the strange robes had began to question her, she didn't have the words to explain, it just came out using the nursery rhyme her parents had told her as a child.

"I'm a little teapot,

short and stout,

Here's my handle,

Here's my spout.

tip me over and pour me out."

Lucius who was standing next to the girl reached out and holding her wrist felt the erratic heart beat and could see that her eyes were clearly not focusing on anything in the room. "I think she went into shock."

"Lucius, where is Narcissa?" McGonagall asked.

With a sigh, he said "She sent me an owl to let me know that a house elf had kidnapped Ms. Granger. I was already on my way here about another matter. I should let her know that Ms. Granger has been located. I think we should take her back to the manor house. Madam Boudica Pomfrey is already there."

"I agree." Amelia said as she moved around her new office decoration and towards the clearly shocked teenager. "Minerva, would it be possible for you to work with Croaker to figure out what to do with my uh, er, my prisoner."

"I will do my best." the woman said as she looked sideways at the transfigured human tea pot.

"Tonks, Kingsley, you are with Croaker and McGonagall. Minister, do you need an escort back to your office?" She asked.

Fudge looked once again between the criminal now encased in porcelain and copper and the young girl before looking at his department head and replied "No, but please keep me up to date. I am guessing that this is on a need to know basis."

"I think that would be best." She replied dryly.

TBC


	6. Luke, I am Your Father

A/N:** USA83 was curious about the word captio. It comes from the ancient ceremony that resulted in choosing a vestal virgin. It was called a captio.(Capture) I used a bit of artistic license for the story.**

**Thanks to all who have reviewed, those who comment on storyline tend to help guide me with where I go in the story. I have the end already outlined, but its the meat of the story that you have helped guide.**

Chapter Five

Lucius guided the young muggleborn witch to the floo with the intent of getting her away from the Ministry. He had found himself noticing more and more every time he saw her how much she reminded him of his wife. No matter the station of her birth, she had the inner strength and fire that spoke of a successful future in their world.

Arriving at the manor through the floo to find his wife pacing back and forth, he softly called out her name. Lucius looked at the Granger girl and saw she was still numb, so he kept his hand on her arm to keep her with him. "Cissa."

Narcissa turned and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the young woman with her husband. Looking into her eyes, she saw her almost complete apathy and quickly turned to her husband.

"Amelia will be right here to explain. You might want to gather whoever else is here so that the story only needs told once." He said as he guided the teenager to his study and soon had her seated on the sofa.

Within minutes, he saw Severus entering and behind him Harry Potter looking much better than he had that morning. He watched with knowing eyes as Potter now dressed in magical clothes sat down next to the girl and simply reached out to hold her hand to let her know he was there.

Snape and he shook their heads when they saw the young girl notice who was comforting her and all but climb into Potter's lap as she burst into tears while trying to speak at the same time.

It sounded like total nonsensical words to them but it was rather clear that the teenage boy understood everything she was saying as he softly questioned what she was telling him all the while wiping the tears falling on her wet cheeks.

There was the sound of others entering and Lucius looked up to see his wife with Boudica Pomfrey and Amelia followed by Lupin and Black. Hiding his anger at the ex-escapee, Lucius moved closer to his wife who was now seated on the chair nearest the two teenagers.

Black was about to speak to Harry when Lucius saw Lupin shaking his head no and indicating for him to be patient as Narcissa told them what happened at the Black house. Amelia Bones took over at that point and told them the story of what happened at the Ministry.

"Pettigrew is captured?" Severus said looking at Lucius. He was surprised the blond had not warned him. They had been secretly looking for the rat for days.

"He is but there is a problem." Amelia said with a grimace. "Until he is returned to his human form, we have no idea if he can ever be charged. We can't question a teapot under veritaserum."

"What does Croaker think happened?" Boudica asked thinking of her old classmate and still amazed at the authority the boy she had once knew as a practical joker had now.

"From what I gather, Ms. Granger didn't use the actual incantation to transfigure Pettigrew. It was pure anger mixed with accidental magic and then that odd house elf of Potter's reacted at the exact same time to Pettigrew trying to escape and used a spell to keep him from returning to his animagus form." Amelia replied. "The two spells combined created a five foot tea pot."

"Is Hermione in any sort of trouble?" Sirius asked from where he had been standing. He had wanted to comfort both of the teens who had rescued him last month but it was rather clear that they were finding comfort from each other.

"None." Amelia replied.

Harry heard Sirius speaking and his eyes came off of Hermione and looked up to see his godfather standing near the doorway looking healthier than he had mere weeks ago. Smiling at him, but not moving away from the crying witch in his arms, he said "Hermione thinks she killed him."

Amelia moved to the edge of the sofa and turned the young woman's head towards her. "Ms. Granger, you did nothing of the sort. Mr. Pettigrew will be turned back, it just will take time. You did nothing, nothing wrong, young lady."

There was the soft sound of a chime coming from the hallway and Lucius went to speak to whoever was at his floo. Looking at the Goblin and seeing he was at Gringotts, he quickly went through and listened to what the man with a large ax had to say.

"I will inform my wife and the owner of the house. What happened to the elf you located there?" He asked.

"The Black House elf named Kreacher committed suicide the minute our curse breaker finished his work on the object." Lucius was handed the paperwork and told that they were finished with the home. "A curse breaking team will go tomorrow and deal with any lingering darkness."

Thanking the man, Lucius returned to his manor and his study to find that Lupin was telling Harry and Sirius Black what they had done so far to fix things. Amelia had handed him the paperwork from the Minister but she knew that until it was all officially handled in front of the Wizengamot things could still be screwed up.

"Basically the minute you are free, Sirius, you should regain custody of Mr. Potter. The Dursleys signed away custody to his two godfathers in the muggle world. Mr. Lupin and Mr. Snape." Amelia explained.

Harry choked at the news that Severus Snape had any sort of control over his life so Lupin handed him the letter his parents had written. He would have been on his feet complaining if Hermione hadn't fallen asleep, her head resting now in his lap.

Amelia looked at Lucius Malfoy who either had a very annoying tic or was trying to convince Severus Snape to speak up about something. When the dark haired wizard seemed to be refusing, it hit her what he was hiding and with a roll of her eyes said "Mr Potter, while I tend to agree that Severus isn't exactly sunshine and daisies, he has been under a spell placed on him by Lord Voldemort for the last fourteen years meant to make sure he saw your father not yourself when he looked at you."

Harry saw Snape glaring at the woman who was glaring back but through her monocle and then looked at the woman sitting nearby. "I didn't get it earlier, but you are Draco's mom, right?"

"Yes." she answered looking at the boy she was sure her son envied.

"I'm surprised he isn't in here angry that I am here." He stated wearing a slight frown.

"Draco ran away from home yesterday to the Granger household." Lupin said with a slight chuckle. "Didn't you hear what Hermione was telling you this morning?"

"I did but I thought that it was a side effect of my concussion." Harry admitted as he recalled something about a toaster and a knife. "Wait, Draco is in a muggle home? And it was his choice?"

"Not exactly." Narcissa answered as she explained the events of the last few days to the confused teenager. Looking at Hermione who was asleep now that the crisis was over, she wondered about how her son had done in the muggle world that day.

VESTA

Draco was silent on the drive back to the Granger household. His day had been oddly enjoyable as the Grangers would visit with him in between patients. At least until Ms. Dr. Granger had treated her last patient of the day. He had heard the screaming from the small room he was in and had almost passed out as her husband calmly explained what was going on in the treatment room.

Now on shaky legs as he entered the house, he sank onto the sofa and looked at the woman he had no idea was crueler than even his aunt Bellatrix was rumored to be. Without a word, he took his books to the room he was staying in and quietly made his bed and hung up his clothes in the closet. He didn't want to anger the woman by leaving his room a mess.

He heard a soft knock on the door and when he called out for whoever it was to enter, he found he was unable to met the woman's eyes. "Draco, you have been rather quiet. Is everything alright?"

When he quickly said everything was fine, she moved over to stand next to him. When he met her eyes and quickly looked away, she realized that her husband was right and the young boy had been terrified by what he had overheard and seen.

"Draco, what did my daughter tell you about my job?" She asked.

"You're supposed to be teeth healers." He replied still not meeting her eyes.

"Draco, what you heard earlier, my patient refused to be placed under what I guess you would call a pain potion. He needed a tooth extracted. If I hadn't removed it, it could have killed him." She gently said.

"Bu-but you had blood on y-your clothes." He whispered.

"Yes, and it was his blood but that is why I wear medical scrubs." She said. "What sort of treatment do magical folks get for their teeth? Do they have them cleaned by a dental healer once a year? Do they ever need pulled?"

"I don't know. I have never been to a dentist or dental healer." Draco admitted even as his hand went to cup his jaw.

"Let's move downstairs." She said and when the boy had sat down at the kitchen counter, she asked him to open his mouth wide. Draco hesitated and then did as requested. She used one of her small flashlights and then pulling back said. "It must be something magical but you have absolutely no cavities."

Draco listened to their explanation of dentistry and found he really wanted to ask why they hadn't fixed Hermione's teeth if they were able to but he was sure that was not a good subject to bring up to her parents.

VESTA

Narcissa saw Hermione waking up from where she was curled up on the sofa in Lucius' study and smiled at the young woman. "How do you feel?"

"Strange." she admitted then looking around to see that the large study was now empty of Harry or anyone else, she whispered "I made a fool of myself at the Ministry."

"The nursery rhyme?" Narcissa said knowingly. Seeing Hermione flushing a bright red, she replied "You were in shock. No one will hold it against you. Besides, according to Lucius and Amelia Bones, Fudge is now officially terrified of you. You did something supposedly impossible at your level in a subject in which he failed his NEWTS."

"Really, the minister failed his transfiguration NEWTS?" Hermione asked and when she saw the superior smile on Narcissa's face as she replied yes, the teenager giggled and said "And he is supposed to be the Minister of Magic."

The two witches heard an argument down the hall and Narcissa looked over at Hermione and filled her in on what was going on. "Young Harry is speaking to all three of his guardians. I do believe that Lucius is moderating."

"What is going on? Why are they arguing?" Hermione asked biting her lip.

"They are sorting out their roles in being Harry's guardian for the summer. I believe my cousin Sirius wants to make sure he has fun in between Mr. Lupin and Severus' plan for him to study. Harry stated he has spent most of the the last two weeks studying."

The two witches strolled down to the main parlor and stood inside the doorway and to Hermione's surprise, Harry wasn't arguing with Professor Snape like she expected, but with mild mannered Professor Lupin who seemed to be insisting that he should be studying Runes and Arthimancy.

Narcissa moved over to Severus and asked "What is going on?" 

"Potter wants to drop Divination, which we all agree is a good thing. Lupin however wants him to drop Care of Magical Creatures as well and take Runes and Arthimancy. Potter is willing to add both classes but wants to keep Hagrid's class." Severus replied.

"That sounds perfectly logical." Narcissa replied and noticed that the teenager looked smug at her agreeing with him.

"Harry, be reasonable. I am very proud of all the work you have already done this summer, but I am just afraid that when you get back to school, you will let the same distractions that kept you from working your hardest the last three years keep you from doing so this year." Lupin quietly stated.

"Why don't all four of you speak to Professor McGonagall and ask her." Hermione suggested.

Sirius had been watching Snape while struggling inside with the knowledge that he had to be nice to Severus and share custody of Harry with the man and then looking at Lupin said "I have another idea."

His plan had Snape scowling and Lupin shaking his head. Harry meanwhile was unhappy that Snape was to be involved at all. Some part of him was rejoicing at the thought so many cared for him, but at the same time he felt the restrictions of new rules settling upon him.

"Wait, how did you know that I bought those books?" He asked the adults.

"The delivery owl from Flourish and Blotts delivered the books last night." Lucius replied. "I believe that they were placed on the desk with the rest of your current text books last evening. Also, while Amelia was here, she removed the trace on your wand but you aren't to abuse this responsibility."

Harry shook his head when he realized that the only wizard in the room being reasonable about things was the one who had tried to attack him at the end of his second year at Hogwarts. Glaring at Snape, Lupin and his godfather, he groaned as he realized that all three of them carried that title.

"Harry?" Hermione heard the soft groan and knew that it meant her friend was frustrated about the situation.

"It's just... I spent years wanting some adults who would care about my grades, who would be happy that I did well. The Dursleys punished me for doing better than Dudley and he was an idiot so I had to..." Before he could finish, he found himself being tightly hugged by his best friend and had a mouthful of hair so he could no longer speak.

There were some chuckles as they listened to the two teenagers talking and Severus was once again vowing to make the Dursleys pay as he began to understand the dynamics that had lead to Potter's lackluster grades.

Sirius was watching Remus, wondering why he was so adamant on getting Harry out of Care of Magical Creatures. He saw the way Lucius kept glancing at Moony and knew that the other wizard also was wondering what was going on.

Grabbing Moony and pulling him into the hallway, Sirius bluntly asked. "Why do you want Harry out of Hagrid's class?"

Remus shook his head and admitted "Sirius, I think that the Headmaster is using Hagrid like he tried to use me to keep an eye on Harry. Were you aware that Hagrid was the one who took Harry to get his first year supplies?"

"Yes, I agree but why do you want Harry out of the class?" Sirius repeated.

"I don't know." Remus admitted. "I just want to limit the opportunities for the Headmaster to have access to Harry. I think that part of it is that he is spearheading a plan to bring the TriWizard Cup Competition this year. After the last three years, I just don't like the chances that Harry will remain on the sidelines, age restrictions or not."

When Hermione left Malfoy manor to return to her parents house, to her surprise, Mr. Malfoy went with her to check on Draco. He had apparated to the back yard while Hermione had gone through the floo after rejecting an offer to be side-apparated. She really, really didn't like the feel of apparation.

She entered the kitchen to see Draco ducking and shouting as her father used the blender to make ice. "Draco, calm down. Your dad is outside."

"I'm staying." He snapped not wanting to leave.

Rolling her eyes, a bit surprised that a day at the dental practice hadn't scared him, she said "He just wanted to check on you."

Draco gave one more distrustful look at the silver machine that had made all of the noise and exited the back doors to the garden. He saw his father standing beside Jean Granger as she placed flowers in a vase.

Walking over, he sneered and said "What, now you are worried about me?"

"Draco I have faith in you." Lucius said while staring into his son's eyes. "I am here to make sure that you wish to stay. If you don't, we will return to the manor. It's your choice."

"I'm staying." He snapped at his father before suddenly turning to Jean Granger and asked if it was alright with her. She said that he was invited for the entire week and that seemed to please the teenager as he mentioned going to help Hermione bring out dinner.

Lucius was staring at his son, rather proud of his stubbornness even as he wished the boy was less like him.

"He's doing fine, Mr. Malfoy. He worked without complaint on his summer assignments and other than being easily startled by certain muggle ways, he has done you proud." She said. "He is a very intelligent young man."

"I know." Lucius said looking at the woman who was allowing his son to stay. "I just know that he isn't the easiest person to live with."

"Most teenagers aren't. Hermione certainly has her moments." She said shaking her head. "She has grown up so much over the last few years, but when she was younger, if we pushed her into doing things she didn't want to, her magic would flare up and we at the time had no idea what was going on. Now, looking back, I sometimes wish that Professor McGonagall had come when she was younger and other days, I wished she had never come at all."

Lucius had never thought about the muggleborn side of things. He had dealt with raising a young wizard in a magical household and could only imagine that it had been even more difficult in a household where no one had the ability to reign the magical child in. Still the muggle woman's response had him bluntly asking "Why? Why would you not want you daughter to know of her abilities and to learn to control them?"

"I do want her to learn that." Jean said before admitting. "Our daughter spends most of her time in a world I can't even imagine. A world that we in the non magical world dismiss as science fiction or fantasy. It's hard, as parents to realize your child is slowly growing away and will one day have a life that you won't ever really be able to see. A world with trolls, dragons, sixty foot snakes that can kill with their eyes, humans that turn into animals."

Lucius had flinched at the reminder of the basilisk but found himself looking at the woman.

Jean saw she had his attention and tried to explain what she felt but then recalled something else she needed to speak to him about. "I'm sorry. I just recalled that there is something I needed to speak to you or your wife about. Young Draco and Hermione were speaking last night and he mentioned some rather unwanted attention from a young woman who snuck into his dorm rooms. Petunia, Patrice, Polly no it was a flower, I think."

"Pansy?" He asked. When she nodded, he said "I will deal with that young woman."

"One other thing, Draco seems to feel that one of his professors, specifically the one who teachers his transfiguration class wouldn't help him if he asked for help. Now, I know that she is the woman who is my daughter's Head of House, but surely the professors at Hogwarts are required to abide by the education laws that require them to help all students. She wouldn't ignore your son just because of what house he was sorted into, would she?"

"No, but I do understand where Draco gets the idea from." Lucius answered a bit annoyed that this muggle managed to get more out of his son in one day than he had for the last three weeks. "I will speak to Professor McGonagall, she might be able to do something about it."

"May I ask a question of you?" She inquired looking at the rathear aloof man. "Regarding this Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"You may." Lucius said curious as to what was going on in this muggle woman's mind regarding the man he disliked.

"What sort of man, wizard is he? I know from my daughter's books that he was a war hero. I heard he is a brilliant wizard but talented or not, he seems a rather lackluster and indifferent headmaster who doesn't put his students first like he should." Jean stated.

"I am not the best person to ask. I have my own personal issues with the Headmaster date back to my time as Head Boy while attending Hogwarts and differing political views." He stated, trying to avoid saying anything that be detrimental to his wife's goals.

Jean said "What you aren't saying, says a lot. Thank you."

Lucius got the feeling that Mrs Granger would have been a Slytherin if she had attended Hogwarts. A Ravenclaw at the very least. "What impact does this have on your daughter's future education?"

"It's more along the lines of what do we need to change to ensure her continued education at Hogwarts. I have spoken to Augusta Longbottom and her grandson Neville takes gardening lessons from me one day a week. His own description of certain events give me a slightly different prospective." Jean replied.

VESTA

Harry woke up in the same fancy four poster bed with amazingly comfortable linens he had slept in the night before. At least he had pajamas on this morning he thought as he looked at the thin shorts and t-shirt combination. Hearing the sound of snoring, he looked over to see Sirius in grim form sleeping on the sofa near the fireplace.

Getting up and heading to shower, Harry was brushing his teeth when a house elf popped into view and said "Mister Harry Potter sir, when you is ready for breakfast, I am to escort you to the breakfast room."

Finishing up in the bathroom, Harry wiped his mouth and was trying to fix his hair when the mirror sneered and said "Give it up as a lost cause, boy. Nothing will ever fix that rat's nest except shaving yourself bald."

Harry just glared at the annoying mirror that had told him yesterday he needed to do something about how scrawny he was, that no girl or boy if that was his persuasion would ever look at him twice until he did.

The house elf touched his arm and next thing Harry saw was Lucius Malfoy sipping coffee or tea. "Welcome, Mr. Potter. Have a seat, please."

When he had done so, he stared at the man he hadn't spent time alone with since he had tried to kill him.

The two wizards stared at one another, neither giving an inch as they waited for the other to speak first. Harry did sit but not at Malfoy's right side like the man had indicated, but far enough away that he could draw his wand.

Rolling his eyes, Lucius said "Mr. Potter, you are completely safe here. My wife would kill me if I so much as harmed a single hair on your head though, you might want to consider going back to your room and brushing it."

"And I thought the mirrors in this place were rude." Harry snarked back. "I guess they take after the Head of House, unless it is considered common courtesy to tell your guests their hair doesn't meet your approval."

Lucius chuckled and looking at the boy said "Point to Potter. Seriously, young man, we need to talk."

"Snape told me yesterday all about what the diary did to you." Harry replied not giving an inch. He was willing to accept the truth but he still didn't approve of the man sitting across from him.

"Professor Snape." Lucius corrected much like he would have done with Draco.

"No, he agreed I could call him Snape last night. Severus would be too strange and Professor or Mr. Snape when he is apparently my godfather too formal. We decided on Snape." Harry replied.

"Fine, I will try not to correct that in the future." Lucius said as a house elf popped into view and placed a large platter of pancakes, eggs and sausage in front of the young boy along with a blue potion.

"Mr. Harry Potter must drink potion on Master Snape's orders and I am to watch to be certain you eat everything on your plate." The house elf announced and then popped a banana and an apple into view. "Snack."

With wide eyes, Harry said "I never eat this much at breakfast."

"Master Snape says you must eat." The House elf snapped at the boy. "Eat."

Lucius lifted his coffee cup to hid the grin as he watched the growing battle between his closest friend's house elf and the teenager. To Potter's credit, he did down the potion, with a disgusted look on his face that changed to surprise when it had apparently tasted good.

The house elf won the battle by threatening to tell Lupin, Black and Severus that the boy had refused to eat. He watched as Potter slowly fed himself the large breakfast.

"So what did it say?" He asked once the boy was eating breakfast. He was used to a solitary morning meal during the weekdays and having someone at the table with him was proving amusing. He saw the boy's confusion and prompted "The Mirror, you said it was rude."

"Yesterday it suggested that I was scrawny and that I wouldn't get a date no matter what my sexual preference if I didn't do something about it." Harry said his face bright red. "Today it told me I would be better off bald."

Lucius once again lifted his coffee cup, hiding his grin. He had tried to destroy that mirror when he was a teenager himself but it was charmed unbreakable. The stupid thing had told him that no girl would ever date a boy who spent more time in the mirror than she did. "I would apologize but I can't be held responsible for inanimate objects created before I was born. Though if it makes you feel any better, it regularly suggests that Severus just give it up and drown himself."

Harry choked as he found himself wanting to laugh.

"I keep waiting for him to find a way past the charm and to smash the mirror when he stays." Lucius replied with glittering eyes as he recalled how outraged Severus had been the last time he had stayed at the manor.

Harry was three quarters of the way done and found he couldn't eat another bite, looking at the house elf standing guard, he pushed the plate away and said "I'm full."

"Fine. Master Snape said for you to take that apple and banana when you go to keep Mister Draco company today." Harry was muttering dark remarks about what he would like to do with that apple and banana as the elf grinned at the boy and popped out of the room.

"So, you will be spending the day with Draco?" Lucius asked. "Whose choice was that?"

"The evil triumvirate that has taken over my summer." Harry replied. "Godfather #1 is to attend a meeting to release him on his own recognizance from the Ministry today. Godfather #2 had decided that since I am going to be brewing every single potion from the beginning of my first year until now, so he is procuring the ingredients. Godfather #3 is helping Hermione and your wife. I can't go since I can't be seen by whatever wizards are to be there."

"If you two are able to manage to get along without fighting today, we might be able to get a group together and play Quidditch this evening." Lucius suggested as he finished the last of his coffee and told him how to use the floo to get to the Granger house before leaving for his meeting.

Harry was very quiet as he went through the floo. It was barely seven o'clock in the morning when he exited the Granger front parlor and walked towards where he heard voices.

Standing in the doorway, observing the amusing scene, Harry was quietly laughing as he heard Draco pester Hermione about the box of cereal and why it was describing the cartoon characters as elves when they didn't look like elves to him.

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the door frame as he heard the tone that even Ron realized meant for him to duck that he was about to be hexed, so Harry said "Draco, duck."

The blond did as ordered and the other three people in the kitchen turned to find Harry watching them. The doctors Granger heard their daughter shout Harry and then hop up, knocking her chair over as she rushed over to throw herself into the boy's arms.

Jean took in the dark haired boy with the emerald green eyes that had often been described in her daughter's letters. He was wearing the same sort of casual but expensive clothes as Draco but this boy didn't have the arrogance that the Malfoy boy wore as a cloak to mask his insecurities.

This boy in spite of his politeness and what seemed like shyness radiated the same magical power that the adults she had met had. She saw her husband's smirk as Hermione began talking a mile a minute as she led the second teenage boy to the table to introduce him to her parents.

"Potter why did you tell me to duck?" Malfoy demanded, his mind on the letter he had received from his parents about Potter spending the day with him and how his father had offered a chance to play quidditch that afternoon.

"I heard that tone in Hermione's voice, the one that even Ron at his most obtuseness knows means that Hermione is about to hex someone." He said with a smile on his face. "I figured if you got hexed, your dad would blame me and that would mean no Quidditch, so..."

"Aw, you care. You really care." Draco said fluttering his eyes at Potter like he often saw girls at Hogwarts do.

"Well the mirror in my bathroom said that my looks wouldn't get me a date, so I figured why not try to kill you with kindness. So?" Harry asked while observing how more relaxed Draco seemed in the muggle world.

"So? What?" Draco asked looking around.

"Since my date of choice is running away with your mom to a haunted house, I figured, well you would do as backup. So Malfoy want to be my date?" Harry said with a wink at Hermione who burst out laughing.

"Potter if you and I were the last two wizards on earth, I would still rather kiss a dementor than date you." Draco replied.

"That's a shame." Harry said. "Having seen a dementor up close and personal, I would chose to date you first. Though, I would choose dating Voldemort over a date with a dementor."

The adults had no idea what a dementor looked like so they didn't get it but Hermione was laughing until Harry said "No, wait, I take that back. I think I would prefer the dementor to Tom Riddle."

"Whose Tom Riddle?" Draco asked looking confused.

Hermione held up her wand and wrote Tom Marvolo Riddle and then I am Lord Voldemort. "You have to admit he was smart, scary but smart."

"You know, that is how Ron describes you, Hermione." Harry said. "Oh speaking of Ron, I got mail from him yesterday."

"Me too. Something about the World Cup and tickets." Hermione said.

"Uh guys, you do know my dad bought a whole box so that all of us could go to the World Cup right?" Draco asked in an uneasy tone. Seeing them looking at him, he said "I think it was supposed to be some sort of coming out party regarding your godfather situation, Potter. I sort of overheard them talking about it the night before I came to the Granger House."

"Bugger." Harry said his eyes meeting Hermione as he realized that no matter how this went, someone was going to be pissed at the two of them. "Maybe I should tell someone what Ron wrote?"

"I could always tell Narcissa today." Hermione tentatively suggested. "I uh, Harry Ron mentioned us staying for the summer. I uh, wrote back and told him that I might be busy."

"I know I will be." Harry said wearing a slight frown. "The godfathers have a good part of my summer already scheduled. Plus thanks to my dropping Divination and taking up Runes and Arithmancy, I have a lot of extra studying to do before Professor McGonagall will let me keep up with your class, Hermione."

"You are taking them both?" Draco asked. "Whose tutoring you?"

"In which class?" Harry asked with a heavy sigh. "Professor's Flitwick and McGonagall are coming next week to test me in charms and transfiguration. Luckily they are just verbally testing my revising in Astronomy, Herbology, and History of Magic. I have Snape working with me on DADAs and Lupin is going to be supervising me in Potions so that no one can say I am getting preferential treatment during the summer. I think that Sirius is going to be working on Arithmancy with me since he was pretty good at it and Runes is also going to be Lupin since he used them in creating the map, Hermione."

"Maybe you can convince him to make a second copy of it, Harry." She said in an excited tone.

"I doubt it. He said the only reason he gave it back to me was that he was no longer my professor. Then yesterday he went and told Malfoy about it and of course Snape already knows. I am going to be lucky to be able to keep my invisibility cloak this year. It sucks having so many godparents." Harry said in a angry tone but Hermione saw the slight grin on his face.

"Who are your godparents, Potter?" Draco asked.

"Sirius Black is my godfather in the magical world and is my magical guardian. Remus Lupin and Snape are my godfathers and guardians in the muggle world." He replied.

"Severus is my magical godfather." Draco said a bit put out at sharing a godparent with Potter.

"He is mine as well but it's the muggle one that is important because Lupin and he forced my aunt and uncle to let me go." Harry said with a slight shrug.

"Good." Draco said flushing as he recalled what he had read in his mother's files on her desk. He started to say more when he saw Granger and Potter look his way. "Uh, can we forget I said anything."

"You know?" Harry asked in a hurt tone. "How?"

Draco at first considered putting the blame on Granger but the way that Potter didn't even throw a questioning look her way had him being honest in hope that they would keep secret his pilfering through files. "I was in my mom's study. She doesn't know that I know her pass word to her drawer."

Harry was about to verbally attack Draco when he recalled the two adults who had been silently watching the three of them. "You shouldn't have done that."

"No, those horrible muggles shouldn't have done that to a magical child. It's not like we can prevent accidents." Draco said unable to meet his eyes. When he saw Dan Granger watching him, he confessed. "I knew it was wrong but I was upset about Granger spending all that time with my mom."

"She is my mentor, Malfoy." Hermione snapped.

"I know." He replied. "So Scarhead and I are staying here today. Are you sure you trust me?"

"I trust Harry's muggle knowledge to keep you from electrocuting yourself." Hermione said. "Remember, no metal or metallics in the microwave."

"Harry, Hermione said you know how to use a phone and the appliances. I left several movies I felt might be appropriate for the two of you. Be sure to lock the door if you boys go for ice cream or something." Dan said when he noticed the time.

Hermione gave Harry yet another hug and with a casual wave at Draco, went to floo to Malfoy Manor.

VESTA

Lucius hid his need to grin in triumph. Dumbledore had worked hard for the last year to recreate the TriWizard Tournament. He had visited the two competing schools and their ministries, have worked out logistics and had created the three different challenges over the last three hundred and sixty five days.

And it had taken Lucius all of two days to created doubt and insure that it was postponed indefinitely. Which for the magical world meant it would never happen. The only thing he had left intact was the Yule Ball which would have only Hogwart's students attending. He would love to see the old man's face when he found out that his newly resurrected TriWizard Tournament had been sidelined as Lucius had gutted it's security and its entire funding which was now turned over to the auror department.

He was leaving the Wizengamot hallways for a brief lunch when he saw a wizard rushing over to Amelia Bones who rushed off to deal with whatever was going on. Making a mental note to do some eavesdropping later to find out what the rush was, he took the lift to the ministry lobby.

Seeing Fudge and his undersecretary strolling his way, Lucius waited for the minister to catch up before suggesting that the man dismiss Umbridge. The pink toad flushed a rather unbecoming color and croaked something about going to get some lunch after it became clear that the two men wouldn't talk while she was around.

"I heard that your meeting with Black went well." Lucius replied.

"Yes, thanks to hearing from Pettigrew myself, he has been exonerated. He will have to face the Wizengamot tomorrow but hopefully by the end of the day, young Potter will be returned to his rightful magical guardian." Fudge said in a cheerful and pompous mood.

Lucius thought about the owl he had received from his wife before lunch regarding the Quidditch Cup situation and with a bit of whispering in the man's ears, soon had it so that Arthur Weasley would still get tickets, but just enough that only his own family would be able to attend.

VESTA

Draco and Harry were seated on the sofa, having watched Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back when they heard someone coming through the floo wards. Looking up to see Sirius and Severus, the two looked at one another and burst into wild laughter when their eyes met.

Draco couldn't resist, deepening his voice and looking at Harry then at Severus. "Luke, I am your father."

This sent Harry into hysterics again as he saw Sirius just shaking his head in amusement while Snape's left eye brow was almost to his hair line. The two boys had spent the day getting along in spite of their differences. The movies had been a bonding experience as they argued who they would be in the films,

Harry reluctantly agreeing that most would think he was Luke Skywalker which had sent them looking for potential cast of characters from others in their lives. But the one they had both agreed on, Snape as Darth Vadar.

Draco mimicked Darth Vadar and said "The force is strong with you, young Potter, but you are not a full licensed wizard yet."

"So, is Black Darth Vadar or am I?" Snape asked and he saw the two boys stop and stare at in the middle of their play acting.

"You know who Darth Vadar is?" Draco asked while Harry felt unable to even speak. Severus Snape knowing Star Wars was as likely to either of them as Snape getting down on his knee and proposing marriage to Professor McGonagall in the middle of the Gryffindor common room.

"Yes." Snape replied. "Now would CP3O and R2D2 be joining us at the Quidditch pitch or do you two think that you can manage without your robot backups?"

Flushing the two boys looked over at the mock-ups they had created with ordinary house hold items and quickly dismantled the syrup container and waste can they had used Harry's wand to transfigure.

Harry reminded Draco to write a note to the Grangers and then the four of them returned to Malfoy manor as they were told the rules for their pick up quidditch game.

TBC


	7. Let's tell them about the troll

A/N: This helps transition into the more fun stuff but I needed to get some Weasley background info into the story. Ron to me isn't being a git in this chapter, more like a simply spoiled teenage boy whose dream trip is at hand only to have it yanked away. I also set up the Lupin storyline which is going to connect back to the Weasleys at a later date. Sorry for the delay but we didn't bring our laptop on vacation and due to the weather in the Northeast we ended up in a hotel for a week. Hard to write with only a cell phone. So you are getting a loonnngggg chapter, almost 8800 words.

Chapter Six

Hermione walked into the kitchen at Malfoy manor and saw the various loaves of bread and eggs for them to feed all of Hogwarts. The house elves who had gathered all the supplies had also arranged for a twenty pound bag of confectionery sugar and what she was willing to bet was real maple syrup in a large vat that was currently being stirred by magic with a large wooden spoon.

She saw Narcissa standing nearby at the large windows conferring with the house elves and then walking her way as she tried to keep Hermione from seeing the frown on her face.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked as she looked around for Professor Lupin who had left Black Manor earlier after quietly speaking to the head curse breaker who to her surprise had been one of the Weasley brothers.

"N-er, yes." she said trying to be upbeat even as she tried to figure out how she was supposed to fix this french toast meal that Hermione had suggested. Narcissa's mother would never have suggested her daughters even enter a kitchen.

When she had married Lucius, he had been determined to spoil her rotten and had felt guilt at marrying her when she was only sixteen even if it had been to save her life. He hadn't want her bogged down with normal house wife duties so she had barely planned menus with the house elves at that early point in her marriage let alone cooked.

Hearing shouting from the gardens, she pushed her worries out of her mind and suggested that Hermione and she join the boys out at the pitch. Requesting some refreshments from the elves, they took the stone path to the pitch where they found a lively game of Quidditch under way minus the bludgers.

"Why is Harry playing keeper?" Hermione asked as she settled into one of the lawn chairs the house elves popped into view.

"Draco is doing the same thing at the other end." Narcissa stated. After a few more minutes, Narcissa said "It seems Lucius and Lupin are on Harry's team and Severus and my cousin are playing on Draco's but who are the two playing seeker?"

Hermione waited until they flew closer and then said "I think that the one boy is Oliver Wood, who used to be the Keeper for the Gryffindor team. I don't know who the second boy is."

The game ended without the snitch being caught by a seeker after Harry had reflexively caught it himself. It was a sheepish Harry who flew down and landed his broom near Hermione and Mrs. Malfoy.

"Hey, Scarhead. You weren't playing seeker." Draco taunted as he landed soon after. Harry threw the closed snitch at him and muttered something about instincts. Settling in near his mother after tossing the snitch back into it's case, Draco accepted a glass of lemonade and then looking at the now landing adults, said to the unknown seeker. "Thank you for joining us."

The second unknown Quidditch player was a Puddlemere United beater who Oliver was rooming with during their summer practice sessions. It seemed Lucius had a contact on the team and had invited the two young men to join them for the afternoon.

Watching the sun setting in the west, Hermione reluctantly reminded Draco that if he was returning to her house, they had to go now. The blond looked at his father who with a resigned expression on his face said that he would take care of the brooms just this once.

In the entrance way, Draco nodded to his parents and went through the fireplace. Arriving at the Grangers, Jean took one whiff and ordered him to take a shower before dinner while she questioned Hermione about her day.

"I met another of the Weasley brothers. Bill Weasley was one of the curse breakers who assisted in clearing out all of the mess at the Black house." She told her mom. "It's looking better but now that all of the valuables are out, either in the family vaults or at the auction house, it doesn't seem so spooky. Mrs. Malfoy and I spent the rest of the afternoon choosing colors for the walls and deciding what to do with the furniture."

Draco returned to the kitchen fifteen minutes later, scowling as he complained about how he had no more hair potion left. "I tried to call to one of the house elves and they ignored me."

Hermione wanted to snicker at that statement, but simply offered her own potions. She saw Draco's eyes go to her curly hair and she couldn't resist pointing out that not everyone went for the slicked back look.

Thankfully Dan entered the kitchen carrying take out pizza to go with the salad that his wife had fixed before the two ended up arguing. Once seated at the table, he asked Draco "What were you doing at three thirty today?"

"Playing quidditch." Draco said while he sniffed at the delicious scent now filling the air.

"That lovely little ward you placed on me let me know that you left the house at two thirty, then around the time I inquired about it told me that you were in danger." Dan said with a steady glare at the blond even as he helped himself to a couple of slices of pizza.

"No wonder they don't use it on older kids." Draco said as he observed how the Grangers ate the strange looking pie on the table.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. Draco went to his room and handed Hermione the book before helping himself to the pie. She looked at the marked page and scanned what it had to say. "Oh, for between the ages of four and eleven."

"When the kids would go away to Hogwarts, with the learning to fly a broom we do first year, that charm would drive the parents crazy." Draco said. "Does it give an expiration date because can you imagine how you dad would react to having that alarm during Quidditch seasoning."

VESTA

Bill Weasley entered the Burrow and was quickly swept up in hugs and greetings from his parents and his brothers and sister. His father soon had everyone seated at the dinner table again while his mother fussed over his long hair, leather pants and earring.

"Mom, what I wear works for my job." He politely said not wanting to get into another discussion about how he should give up his job and take one that had supposed life long security to work for the Ministry. Looking around, he said "Where is Percy?"

"Your father was just telling us about that when you came in." Molly said as she placed the large bowls and serving dishes in the center of the table. Bill watched as his siblings all gathered round the large kitchen table.

"Percy is rather busy at his office." Arthur said once the entire family had almost finished eating.

"Yeah, worrying about the importance of the thickness of cauldron bottoms." Ron snickered as the other children laughed.

"No, your brother is helping the Department of Magical Law Enforcement figure out why his boss came into the office, wrote out a letter of resignation and then drank poison." Arthur replied with a slight frown directed at his youngest son.

"Surely not." Molly said in a hushed tone.

"I am afraid it is true. Madam Bones and the aurors were busy at Crouch's house all afternoon. When I left, a team of aurors were being sent to check into something at Azkaban prison."

Ron made a joke about Percy driving his boss to killing himself in mere weeks only to be ordered to his room by his father. "But I haven't had dessert."

"No dessert, not for you, not tonight." Arthur said very unhappy with his youngest son. When Ron stormed off in a high dudgeon, Arthur looked at the other children and his wife. "I meant what I said. No dessert for Ron until tomorrow night. No sneaking anything to him behind my back. Percy is devastated by what happened and if I hear a single derogatory remark out of any of you, I won't be happy."

All nodded and sobered up as they began to realize that this was serious. Arthur looked at his wife and then at the younger children. "I let your teasing of Percy go for too long. It ends now."

Soon the twins and Ginny went to their own rooms, Molly and Bill stayed knowing that there might be more that Arthur hadn't wanted to tell the younger children.

The children had the same idea and after gathering a sulking Ron they went to eavesdrop in Ginny's room which had the best vantage point.

"Percy found the body and had to call in a security team." Arthur said shaking his head. "Amelia Bones arranged for a new position for him. He is going to be working for Scrimgeour starting next week."

"Did anyone tell you why Barty would kill himself?" Molly asked.

"No, but he really had no one left. His wife died a few years ago, his son died in Azkaban for what was done to the Longbottoms. He has no real chance at promotions in his job." Arthur said.

"But with the Quidditch Cup and that event they are staging at Hogwarts this school year, surely he would be high profile." Molly said.

"There have been grumblings about the security of the tournament, the past dangers and what has happened for the last few years at Hogwarts hasn't inspired any confidence in keeping the tournament safe." Arthur replied.

"Surely, everyone knows that Dumbledore will keep everyone safe." Molly protested.

"Mum, there have been rumors regarding Hogwarts since the year Charlie graduated. Some have suggested that Dumbledore might be getting a bit old."

When Bill saw his mother working herself up into a lather to defend Dumbledore, he let her get as far as pointing out his war record and saying that it was his enemies like the Malfoys, Bill said "Mum, did a troll get into the school Ron's first year? Did a teacher die that year?"

"Yes but-."

"Last year, did Lucius Malfoy managed to get Ginny to bring in a dark book to the school, past wards that defend against such a thing happening? Did it take three teenagers to figure out what and how it was happening? Did it take a twelve year old boy to rescue our sister? Were several students petrified by a giant basilisk, an event that happened before during the Headmaster's tenure as transfiguration teacher?"

"Yes but Lucius-"

Bill stopped that comment again and said "The wards around Hogwarts are set up to protect against such a thing. There is no way the Headmaster didn't have some knowledge of what was going on."

Bill saw his father sink deeper into his chair as what he was saying got through the older man's blinding loyalty to Dumbledore. "This year, in spite of dementors surrounding the school, an escaped convict still managed to get onto the grounds several times."

"But-"

"Mom, after the last three years, if there weren't questions about Dumbledore's leadership I would be worried. And for him to want to stage this tournament in which several students have died in the past seems to be the height of fallacy. Let me ask it this way. Will there ever be another pet brought into this house without an animagus charm being done?"

"No, of course not. We have learned from the past." Molly said scowling.

"Then why hasn't the Headmaster?" Bill asked. "He is only inviting trouble. A few years from now, after the issues with the wards and the holes in Hogwarts security are sealed, the tournament might be a good idea but not now."

Molly felt sad for the old warrior as she looked at her son and said "I think it was to be his own personal treat in honor of defeating Grindelwald."

"He shouldn't be risking a school full of students for his own hubris Mum." Bill said before looking at his father. "What is this I heard about Bagman screwing up seating for the Cup? I heard at Gringotts today that the Goblins are about to ban him from the bank. Why would Crouch put him in charge of anything?"

"Unfortunately, Crouch made some rather large errors when it comes to the Quidditch Cup. I think it's one of the huge pressures that led to his committing suicide. He placed Ludo in charge of seating arrangements for the competing ministries and our own. Ludo thought that there were a hundred extra tickets, in fact they are short almost two hundred seats now."

"Molly, you didn't mention to the boys about the cup tickets, did you?" Arthur asked his wife.

"No, you asked me not to." Molly verified. Upstairs in Ginny's room, the twins felt their hearts sink as they began to realize what was about to happen.

"Good. I overheard the Minister asking for volunteers to give up seats in the Ministry box but even with some of those who do give up tickets, it won't be enough to fix their mistake. They will be cutting down the tickets available to us as well. I will be lucky to receive any tickets let alone the number I was originally offered."

"I know Crouch had two, those will be returned, Malfoy made a large production of returning his as a representative of the Wizengamot. He purchased a luxury box for his guests instead. Ludo was forced to return his so that means I won't have any extra so that Ron could invite Harry and Hermione. In truth, if they don't have enough volunteers, I might be limited to just four tickets which is the max I should have been limited to."

"Four but-." Molly didn't like that. "That's not right, what about families with more than three children. We shouldn't be punished for Bagman's mistake."

"Molls, normally only the high ranking Ministry members receive tickets free, we have never been able to afford them because we were only offered them at cost." Arthur reminded her well aware that the generosity of Bagman had only been because he had wanted to meet Ron's friend, Harry Potter. "Anyhow, since Bill and Charlie have to travel, I am assigning at least two of our tickets to them. I will stay home."

"Dad, I didn't have to travel. I was here on business. Use my ticket for one of the younger children." Bill said wishing he was able to afford to buy more than one. "I will purchase a ticket if there are any available. I received a large bonus for a special project."

"Thank you, Bill." Arthur said feeling sad at having to choose between his children. "So, it will be Charlie, the twins and Percy attending."

Upstairs, Ron was sitting there in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. The Quidditch Cup was coming to Great Britain and he wouldn't be attending. He wasn't going to be allowed to attend but that ponce Percy who barely paid any attention to the game was going to. It wasn't fair.

Storming towards the door, he was out it before Fred and George could catch him. He pounded down the stairs and threw himself against the door between the kitchen and the hallway shouting. "It's not fair. Percy hates Quidditch. It should be me. I should be going."

Arthur stood and looked at his four youngest children who were now in the room. The twins looked pained at being caught eavesdropping, Ginny seemed confused but Ron's overwhelming rage was not acceptable.

Bill saw his mother looking over at his dad and then quietly saying something about maybe Percy could be convinced to not attend, he saw the way Ron looked a tad bit smug only to realize he missed something as his youngest brother began shouting again before pushing his way out the kitchen door and towards the broom shed.

"Arthur, was that really necessary?" Molly asked looking at her husband.

Bill looked at the twins who were having a silent conversation with one another. He was sure they were about to offer up their tickets until he heard what his father had to say.

"Yes, Molly it was. If I can get extra tickets, then Ron will be allowed to attend. If I only have four and if Percy chooses not to go, it will be Charlie, the twins and Ginny. I think that Ronald has a lot of growing up to do." He said before shrugging off Molly's hands on his shoulder as he walked towards the stairs and up to bed.

There was silence in the kitchen before the twins promised to keep an eye on Ginny while Bill went to speak to Ron. "I will give him a few minutes to calm down."

"I think he already wrote Harry about the Quidditch Cup." Ginny said biting her lip. "I don't think it will matter to Hermione, she isn't a big fan. I think she only supports our house team for Harry."

"I met Hermione Granger today." Bill said. Seeing he had the attention of everyone in the room, he added "Were you aware that she is a Vesta Apprentice?"

Molly smiled and said "I must write to Minerva. I am an initiate this year. I would enjoy being her mentor."

"Mum, I think Miss Granger has a mentor. She was with Narcissa Malfoy at an old Black residence that they are renovating." Bill said. "We were brought in to break some old Black curses."

The twins saw the disappointed expression on their mum's face and tugging at Ginny's shirt, the three of them went upstairs to their respective rooms. Downstairs, Bill went to speak to Ron, knowing that his father's actions had hurt his brother deeply.

Molly however used the dishwashing charm and sat down to write Minerva McGonagall to find out what she knew about this situation with the Granger girl. When that was finished, she thought about Narcissa Malfoy having an influence on a friend of Harry's and decided to write another note, this one to Albus, hopefully he could see that this wasn't a good thing.

VESTA

Harry was still up in spite of the late hour. Using a tempus charm, he grimaced as it showed the time to be a quarter to twelve. Tomorrow morning was the start of his new study regimen and he should be fast asleep but something was keeping him wide awake.

Getting out of bed and slipping on the bed shoes that Narcissa Malfoy had picked up for him and then his emerald green robe and tied it. Moving to the window, he looked down over the back garden and felt less alone when he saw that he clearly wasn't the only one still awake.

Lucius Malfoy's rather distinctive hair could be seen as the man sat out on the terrace speaking to someone he couldn't identify. Opening the window, he heard the soft but very familiar voice of his Potion's professor/godfather who was discussing some sort of tournament and how the Headmaster had returned from his ICW meetings to try and salvage it's cancellation.

"The Headmaster has to be insane. After all of the breaches of security for the last three years, to intentionally bring more students in and for such a dangerous event. Severus, I am beginning to wonder if the Headmaster is deliberately bringing danger in." Mr. Malfoy was saying.

"Black is wondering the same thing." He heard Snape saying. "Three years ago, sending Hagrid to Gringotts on the same day he picked Harry up. Letting that diary through the wards. You're right, he had to know. I still can't believe you were foolish enough to write in that damn book. The Weasley girl, well she was eleven and away from home for the first time. You, however, what in Merlin's hairy balls were you thinking in giving it to her?"

"In my defense, I wasn't aware of what it was." Lucius said. "My father stored it in the vault, I just stupidly thought it was yet another dark artifact. As for giving the vapid waste of air the book, I was angry about Arthur Weasley's idiotic attempts to ban artifacts that have been in my family for years when the man is nothing more than a hypocrite."

Harry was clenching his fists at the nastiness of Malfoy's tone, even as he eavesdropped on the two wizard's conversation.

"Hypocrite?" Severus asked in a neutral tone.

"His entire campaign was started by the Headmaster and himself. I have seen the list of banned items and a list of the items confiscated, Severus. There is nothing on there that isn't in the homes of every single pureblood wizard family, light, dark or neutral."

"As for being a hypocrite, a certain flying car ringing any bells?" Lucius said sounding disgusted. "Enchanting muggle items like clocks. I have heard from Fudge himself that the Weasleys own one of those. I know from the past that the Headmaster and his little group had several invisibility cloaks which were also on the latest list of potential banned items. I don't see the Headmaster handing over his own banned items. I haven't seen a single raid on the Longbottom estate or the Bones estate to collect their family heirlooms. The raids two years ago were nothing more than thinly veiled attempts by Dumbledore at intimidation when I voted against his new law regarding the old magical rituals."

"You do know what that is about, right?" Harry heard Snape ask.

Harry watched Malfoy throw up his hands and mutter something before saying "Yes, of course I do. The muggleborn witches and wizards don't respect our traditions, they want to push their own muggle holidays and claim that the traditions we respect should just be ignored. I don't care if some muggleborn witch wants to celebrate their muggle Easter or New Years. I even enjoy the parties that are thrown, I just want to be able to celebrate the winter solstice or Bealtaine without being told it is wrong."

Harry found himself torn between his respect for Arthur Weasley and admitting that it was wrong to force your views on others as he listened to the two men continue to discuss that issue.

He did bite his lip however when he heard Severus bring his name into the conversation. "Black, Lupin and I are planning on performing the protection ritual on Harry tomorrow."

"Why did you wait so long?" Lucius asked. "Why not do it immediately?"

"We want to give the boy time to accept the upcoming changes after what the Dursleys put him through, plus Lupin and I are worried about Black." Harry became tense as he recalled how he had seen the two wizards having a silent conversation when he had returned from a romp with Sirius as Padfoot through the nearby gardens that evening. "He hasn't proven the most responsible wizard to date and Lupin wants to make sure that Harry gets all the support he needs."

"Considering the man's past, I do understand." Lucius said. Harry heard the sigh all of the way up on the second floor. "Is that why Lupin insisted that Harry stay here? Instead of with them? Though, I would like to be there when you try to convince Narcissa to let you remove him. I always wanted to see her hex her cousin."

"He is also worried about the Headmaster trying to force Harry back to the Dursley household. We are rather sure he would never think to look for Harry here." Severus said. "Narcissa has the manor house almost habitable, but I have my doubts about Black wanting to move in there. Amelia Bones was at our meeting yesterday. She suggested that we go to the Goblins and get access to one of the Potter estates so that the boy is raised in one of his ancestral homes but Lupin rightly pointed out that the Headmaster has had access to them all this time."

"What was Black frothing at the mouth about today, er yesterday?" Lucius asked after performing the tempus charm himself.

"Those assorted geegaws in the Headmaster's office." Severus said. "Most of them are tied to monitoring Harry through his blood if Black is right."

Harry saw the blond stiffen and turn to look at the dark haired man. "He knew? What Potter was dealing with as a child?"

"Black recognized at least one of them during a pensive memory I showed him. It was a Potter family heirloom tied to the heir. It was created to warn the Head of House of danger to the heir." Severus said. Looking at Lucius he said "He wants to get access to the Headmaster's office, he thinks he recognized some of the others but wants to get a closer look to be sure. You might be right about the Headmaster's reasons for the raids."

"I know I am right. I looked at the lists of items turned in and compared them to the items confiscated and there are several very interesting supposedly dark artifacts missing. Add that to Perkins reporting that Arthur Weasley has a rather bad habit of saying he is taking confiscated items home to look at them and how they never get returned and I am willing to believe that he is either keeping them himself or turning them over to Albus."

Harry lay back down on his bed, his mind whirling with all of the information he had just obtained. Everything in him wanted to deny what Lucius Malfoy was saying about the Headmaster and about Arthur Weasley, but there was a small voice, the same one that told him the Dursleys were wrong, that he wasn't a freak was telling him that Malfoy was right.

He knew that Mr. Weasley believed the Headmaster was always right, he had been in the man's work shed. He also knew that the Headmaster was aware of his childhood and how bad it had been. That little voice grew a bit as he thought back to the flying car he had ridden in. Lifting a pillow and holding it over his head as if to quiet the voices in his own head, Harry tried to use an old trick from when he had been living at the Weasleys to quiet his thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, when Lucius had told Severus good night and was heading up to bed, the blond automatically stopped by the door to his son's room to check in on Draco before he winced remembering his son wasn't at home.

Heading to the other side of his home, he quietly knocked on a door, getting no answer, entered and stood to the side, amused at what he saw. Harry fast asleep, wearing his robe and slippers with the covers half off the bed and a pillow on top of his head instead of underneath it.

Moving closer, he straightened the tangled sheet and counterpane, levitated the boy and using a divesting charm removed the extraneous clothes, placed the boy on top of his pillow, tucked him in and went off to find his own bed.

In the master bedroom, he changed into bed pants and climbed into bed next to his wife. When she sleepily asked what took him so long, he chuckled and said "Solving all the world's problems with Severus and then checking on our young guest."

"Was Harry asleep?" She asked as she turned over and curled up onto her favorite spot to sleep against her husband's shoulder.

"Yes, but do you remember how Draco used to sleep when he was small? The only difference is that Potter was wearing clothes." He said while letting out a slight yawn. Encircling his wife's waist, he soon drifted off to sleep himself after pressing a kiss to his wife's cheek.

VESTA

Across the wizarding world as they read the Daily Prophet the next morning, witches and wizards were reading articles about the death of Barty Crouch Senior and the secrets he had kept hidden for years, the mysterious arrest of an illegal animagus and how Bagman and Crouch had created a real mess regarding the seating for the Quidditch cup, most missed the smaller article on the second page about how the Wizengamot had decided not to fund the TriWizard Cup at Hogwarts that year.

Lucius who was seated at the breakfast table along with his young guest was reading the paper while young Harry was toying with his omelet. Lowering his newspaper, he asked "Is there something wrong with the omelet?"

Setting his fork down, Harry replied. "No, actually it's great. I just am worried. I start my assignments with Professor Snape and we have been getting along so well. I just..."

"You have nothing to worry about, Harry." Lucius replied. Looking at the boy, he said "Severus told me about the compulsion charms. I have seen how how hard he was working to get along with Lupin and Black after years of being bullied by them at Hogwarts. He wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't for you."

Harry nodded soberly as he heard yet another person describe his father and his friends as bullies while attending Hogwarts. He took another bite of his omelet, knowing he needed to talk to Remus and Sirius about their time at Hogwarts. He needed to know the truth.

Lucius saw the boy was eating once again so he returned to the Prophet. Grimacing when he saw the article by Rita Skeeter regarding the events at the Crouch house and once again wondered who in the Ministry was spilling secrets to that woman.

It had to be someone pretty high up in the food chain because she often got some very interesting top secret information.

VESTA

Harry and his godfathers entered the large room surrounded by Runes on the wall and he found himself staring at the rather fierce Goblin staring right back at him wearing a rather feral looking grin on his face.

"Harry, this is Hytooth, he is going to be supervising the rite." Sirius stated as he moved over to greet the Goblin who nodded then bowed at the teenager.

"Hello, Hytooth." Harry replied as he nodded and bowed back having had it explained by Severus that the Goblins never shook hands with wizards. "Thank you for your time today."

"Mr. Potter, the honor is all mine." The Goblin answered. "This rite should have been performed when you were an infant and it is with regret for the delay that I offer my apologies for not being aware of the lackadaisical manner in which Ministry treated the childhood of one of our oldest vaults."

Remus and Severus moved forward bowed and then went to stand near the alter while Sirius moved Harry into position across from them. Hytooth took his spot to Harry's left and Sirius took the spot to his right. "Harry this is a relatively simply rite except for the knife used."

The teenager watched as Sirius as the wizard most closely related to him by blood lit the four candles placed in a straight line in the middle of the alter moving from far away to closest. Once they were lit, he handed Harry the piece of parchment with the named James and Lily which he instructed Harry to burn.

Giving his magical godfather a sharp look, Harry saw him nodding in encouragement. Looking down at his parent's names, he held them over the small stone basin marked with runes that was closest to him. Setting it on fire with the wand handed to him by Sirius, he then passed the wand onto Remus who was the oldest of his godfathers who did the same followed by Severus and then Sirius himself.

Remus then handed Harry a piece of parchment with his name on it and he followed the exact same ritual then watched as Severus and then Sirius each handed him pieces of parchment with their names on it.

"Now, Harry I need you to use the knife in front of you to make a small cut on the thumb of your left hand." Sirius directed. Once the raven haired boy had done this, he was directed to let the blood drip into the bowl with the parchment which had now turned to ash.

When Harry had done so, Sirius began reciting the words of the ritual claiming him as his blood godson yet again. At the last word, a bright blue light ignited from within both wizards and Harry felt himself compelled forward until he was hugged by Sirius who pressed a kiss to his forehead.

Once Sirius was done, Severus and Harry repeated the ritual leaving the teenager feeling very awkward at being both hugged and kissed by a man who had mere weeks earlier been determined to wring his neck. Relaxing when he heard Snape letting out a quiet chuckle, he found himself laughing as well when once the compulsion was over, Snape didn't let go right away.

He only released the boy when Remus stepped up and once again Harry moved to stand in front of the alter and they completed the last of the ritual. Once finished to their complete shock, Hytooth didn't allow Remus to treat his own wound, instead demanding that Harry allow his own blood to drip into the werewolves open wound.

When Severus and Sirius went to move forward, they found themselves unable to move as the Goblin used magic to force Harry into obeying his order in spite of the fear on the face of Remus Lupin.

Once Harry's blood had dripped into Remus's open wound, the two watched as the Goblin quickly closed the wound on Lupin's hand then did the same for Harry's. With an odd cackle, the Goblin looked at the werewolf and said "You will thank me the morning after the full moon."

With that, Hytooth grabbed the ritual bowl, announced that magic had decreed the three adult wizards as Harry's blood godparents and then quickly apparated out of the room. His exit released the spell holding the newly bound family in place. Remus was frantic as he insisted that Severus check to make sure he hadn't infected Harry with his lycanthropy.

Sirius went directly to Harry only for Severus to growl and remind him he had an open cut on his hand. Using his wand, Sirius healed his cut and quickly moved to hold onto Harry while Severus ran the scanning spell. "He's clear."

"Thank Merlin." Remus said as he fell to his knees as his fear suddenly overwhelmed him. When Harry moved closer to him, he tried to move back but before he could the teenager throw his arms around his godfather, not wanting him to think he was afraid.

Once they had determined that Harry was fine, Severus asked the question that had all of them wondering "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know but I will damn sure find out." Sirius swore as he helped Harry stand and then a trembling Remus who was frantic at what he considered a close call. As they exited the ritual room, he demanded to speak to the Head Goblin only to be told that he was out of the bank at the moment.

When Sirius went to push forward, two Goblins security guards moved forward and suggested that the wizards leave the bank, immediately, only to be stopped by Griphook who grinned at Harry in a way that made the teenager shiver as the teller ordered them to a rather ornate office.

Seated in the waiting chairs, Harry suddenly grinned and said "You know, muggles have a holiday called father's day, does this mean I have to get all three of you father's days gifts for the last twelve years?"

Before Sirius could answer an old goblin entered the room and Griphook bowed in respect then quickly exited the room.

"I do apologize for Goblin Hytooth, he meant no harm. He is a rather impetuous young Goblin who believes that the British Ministry of Magic keeps too many secrets." The quiet voice of this particular Goblin was so different from what he was used to hearing that Harry found himself staring in surprise.

With a deep nod, the Goblin said "I can't tell you why Hytooth did as he did without having to end his existence but I am able to suggest that Potions' Master Snape exam his collection of American Potion's Journals from the muggle year of 1945."

With that, the Goblin popped out of the room and the door magically opened on it's own. "Snape, what the hell is going on?" Remus demanded when he saw the arrested expression on Snape's face as he stared between Harry and the werewolf.

Snape shook his head to clear his thoughts and then said "I have to spend the night at Hogwarts, Harry I am rather pleased with the earlier events. Lupin if I am correct in my suspicions, I do believe that the Goblin is correct and you might be thanking him later this month."

With that, Snape to Harry's shock, reached out and straightened the teenager's robes, brushed his fingers through the hair that was standing on end and then with a nod quickly exited the bank.

Sirius looked at Moony and shrugged when he saw the questioning look on his face. "I haven't a clue. Let's go buy Harry some lunch. I feel like celebrating. Maybe we should invite Hermione and Narcissa."

VESTA

The next morning, Severus was seated at his usual seat near Minerva McGonagall when the Headmaster joined them. He handed a note to Minerva who sighed and said "I also received a missive from Molly Weasley and I promptly wrote back to assure her that when I have seen Ms Granger she seemed quite pleased with her choice of mentor."

"I have seen Ms. Granger during a visit to Malfoy Manor, Narcissa and she seem to be getting along perfectly fine." Severus stated as he eyes Albus wondering if he had tried to interfere in Vesta business. He had heard a coolness in the tone Minerva had used to discuss Albus over the past week.

When Albus mentioned that he was sure Molly would be quite happy to take Ms. Granger on as an apprentice, McGonagall slammed her hand on the table and stood suggesting that Albus keep his nose out of things that weren't his concern.

"I am rather worried about the influence Ms. Granger might have on Mr. Potter if she keeps spending time with the Malfoy family. Some changes might need to be made in the upcoming year." Albus said as he serenely ignored the angry glare that Minerva was shooting his way.

When the Headmaster stood and simply left the great hall, Severus looked over at Minerva as if to say what was that all about. He was rather eager to hear her side of the story because he was quite certain he knew what the Headmaster was about.

He couldn't wait until the man learned that Sirius Black had been declared innocent of the crimes he had been thrown into Azkaban for let alone that Sirius was going to be given custody of young Harry thanks to the help they were being granted by Amelia Bones. Even more so when they had proof of what that goblin had done the day before. He had read the journal in question and couldn't wait to show the article to the others but first he had to find out what he had missed the last few days at Hogwarts.

"That man is going to regret his interference." Minerva spat out. Looking at Severus, she added "You watch your back."

Seeing his confusion, she said "I know what is going on, I exchange owls with Boudica Pomfrey on a daily basis, Severus. He has a plan for that boy and he has no intention of allowing it to be altered without there being carnage. I don't know what it is but I will NOT allow him to use yet another one of my Lions without putting up a good fight unlike last time."

With that, she stood and with her robes swirling around her she quickly left the Great Hall just as Professor Flitwick entered. When the Goblin sat down near Severus, he asked "Did I miss anything this morning?"

"Crouch Senior had his son under the imperio curse for years and took his own life yesterday after murdering his son with poison. The Ministry is about to announce that they caught an illegal animagus and the Headmaster is once again trying to control my godson's life."

"Which one?" Flitwick asked as he served himself some coffee from the waiting carafe. Looking at Severus, he looked at the man. "I want you to consider a few things and then go speak to your former fellow classmates."

Seeing he had Snape's attention, he said "Why have the Gryffindor and Slytherin students been forced together in the two most volatile classes that Hogwart's has to offer? Why did the Headmaster who has never interfered in the School Cup do so Harry's first year? Why was Harry put with the Weasleys who have always been in Gryffindor on his first trip to Hogwarts? Especially after what happened between Molly and Lily Evans all those years ago."

Severus had been about to take a bite of his toast but that last statement had him looking at Flitwick who was now ignoring him in favor of his oatmeal and blueberries. Without another word, Severus went to his quarters and after warding his door, took the floo to Malfoy manor. Locating Lucius, he asked him to join them in the potion's lab that he needed his opinion on some things.

Finding Harry and Lupin in the Malfoy potion's lab, he waited until the two were past the volatile portion of the boy's current assignment and then stepping forward put a stasis charm on the cauldron. "Severus?"

"Where is Black?" He demanded when he entered the classroom. Lucius entered a few second later, still carrying the book he had been reading in his study.

"Speaking to Amelia Bones in the classroom." Lupin replied curious to know if he had found any answers to the events of the day before. "Why?"

"Harry finish your potion, then we all need to talk about something I overheard this morning." Severus said as he stepped back to let Lupin return to working with Harry. He had been watching the boy as he had been tested by McGonagall and Flitwick and had been rather surprised at just how easily the practical parts of the testing had been for him.

VESTA

Sirius thanked Amelia and promised to arrive at Wizengamot session as requested later that day in spite of it only being a formality. Fudge had sighed off on his not guilty verdict even if the man had not wanting to cough up the standard reparations until he had been told that he either did that or they paid Sirius his back salary for the last twelve years as an auror.

Fudge had immediately signed off on the transfer of over seventy two thousand galleons that would have been his back pay. Sirius didn't need the money thanks to having inherited the Black fortune but he was more than willing to stick it to the Ministry.

He was even looking forward to watching as Peter was transferred to his old cell in Azkaban. Heading to the lab, surprised at how quiet the large manor was, he entered the room to see Severus reading the Daily Prophet while Remus supervised Harry who was working on revising his potions assignments. He saw Lucius leaning against the nearby stone wall.

"Good you're here. We need to talk. Harry have you told these two about your adventures your first, second and third year at Hogwarts?" Snape requested pointing to Black and Lupin. "I have told them my version, but I think we need to hear your story."

Gulping, worried he was about to punished for things that had happened in the past now that they were all blood and legally his godfathers, Harry saw Snape holding up his hand and with a roll of his eyes vowing that he would let bygones be bygones about all mischief that Harry had gotten into.

So Harry sat down and starting with what happened when Hagrid picked him up to arriving at Kings Cross. When he told them how he had gotten through the barrier and then about the trip on the Hogwarts Express, he was rather thirsty. Lucius heard about what happened with his son and winced, knowing that the feud with the Weasleys had influenced his son's behavior.

Moving to the tea tray, Harry poured himself a cup of tea so he missed the knowing expressions on the faces of the trio behind him. When he returned and told about how he was almost placed in Slytherin, Severus was shaking his head. "I knew that the Headmaster has been influencing the sortings."

"So I should have been in Slytherin?" Harry asked with a worried expression on his face.

"No, I think you were sorted right, but there is also a meeting with the hat after the students are in bed. Your almost ending up in Slytherin was never discussed. The only student from Gryffindor was Miss Granger in Ravenclaw." Severus told them.

"Harry continue." Remus said and they heard about the first classes including Harry repeating word for word what Severus had told that first class to his surprise.

Sirius chuckled at that and looking at Severus said "Lovely little spiel there, Snape."

"Anyhow, things were settling down and we were getting lost less when there was a blowup between Hermione and Ron outside of the Charms classroom on Halloween." Harry filled them in on the details and then admitted how he had felt guilty about not defending Hermione but how he had been worried he would lose Ron as a friend if he did so. "I apologized to Hermione, but I was wrong. He had no right doing what he did."

"While I agree that Mr. Weasley was out of line, I am rather afraid that what happened was your professors fault. Your Head of House should have taken Ms. Granger aside and pointed out her less than helpful and pushy behavior. It wasn't until this year that that happened, I understand you are responsible for doing so, Remus." Severus said. "The Headmaster tends to discourage our doing so."

"I was rather shocked to find out that it was all the result of a simple understanding." Remus replied. "In muggle schools students get grades on participation. On helping your classmates and how often you raise your hand."

"Why would they do something so stupid?" Sirius asked.

Harry sighed and said "You get graded on your knowledge and then on participation. It's so that even if you are an idiot like my cousin you can get a decent grade in class. I never thought about it because I was told by the Dursleys not to raise my hand and my teachers were all told I was a troublemaker by them so they never asked me for answers."

"Ms. Granger was rather shocked to find out that she was not receiving extra points for raising her hand and that her 'help' was more likely to be downgraded. When she then demanded to know why they received a P grade, I had to tell her that it was the practical part of her grade. She had no clue, none."

"What about the meeting with the fifth year prefect at the school year for first years to tell them about how things worked?" Lucius said. "It was instituted back before I was a prefect."

"We didn't have any sort of meeting." Harry quickly stated and this time he was the way his godfathers were silently nodding and said "What?"

"Harry, it's just that standards in the classroom and certain other requirements have severely slipped at Hogwarts, at least in Gryffindor." Snape said awkwardly. "My students have meetings once a week with me. Prefects are chosen because they are meant to guide new students in what is and isn't required in classes. Did you have a single meeting about the difference in the wizarding and muggle worlds or were you taught how to use a quill?"

"No." Harry quietly replied. "I didn't know that they had classes like that."

"I am going to speak to Ms. Dimpleton, she was the Gryffindor prefect your first year. She recently approached me about writing her a letter of recommendation for St. Mungos." Severus said not adding that if she had been neglectful in her duties, he would be refusing said letter. "In fact I think I will doing that this afternoon."

"Harry what happened with the troll, the truth." Severus said.

Gulping, Harry didn't meet anyone's eyes as he told them what really happened. How he had ended up in the Quidditch team was brought up by Sirius so he back tracked and told that story along with the non-duel, Fluffy and then he moved forward including Hermione setting fire to Snape's robes.

By the time he came to the end of his first year and the trip back to London, Harry would have sworn you could hear a pin drop in the room.

"I don't know whether to hug you or to shake you until your brain rattles." Snape said as he desperately longed for a drink stronger than tea. He saw Sirius was torn between pride and horror while Lucius was holding... wait, with that, Severus walked over and looked at the shelf near the blond.

Seeing the bottle of fire whiskey and shot glasses, he looked at the man who pointed to a now empty shelf. Pouring Lupin, Black and himself each a shot, he handed them over and then looking at Harry asked. "Let's just get it over with, keep going."

By the time Harry finished with spilling his guts, Lucius was shaking his head rather glad that Draco wasn't involved while Sirius was thinking that James would be furious with him for not doing more to protect his son.

Remus meanwhile was wondering if having only three godfathers would be enough to protect Harry. It was almost lunch time and it was rather clear that Severus had brought all of this up for a reason and that they would be talking about it once Harry had gone to watch that last movie with Draco this afternoon.

As they ascended the staircase to find lunch, Harry saw Hermione and Mrs. Malfoy had returned from their morning meetings. When she noticed how quiet the males were, she leaned in and asked "What is going on?"

"Snape had me tell everyone about our first three years at Hogwarts. I am either about to be grounded forever or hugged, they aren't sure." He said with a bit of a shrug. He knew he should be nervous but something was telling him that at most he was about to be grounded just like any other regular teenager.

"Oh." She said with wide eyes knowing that if her parents had the faintest idea of everything she had been up to for the last three years, she would be grounded forever, that they would even remove her books.

TBC

**Up next **

Mischief and Mayhem at the Dursleys

A Friendly conversation between Arthur and Lucius

Oh, and Sirius goes to the Wizengamot


	8. Peter and the Veil

A/N: I had a guest review were a reader suggested I check my facts. Esp regarding the TMR diary and the animagus numbers. The nice thing about fan fiction is that it is just that, fan fiction which allows us to play with the books and CHANGE THINGS. I DID JUST THAT WITH THE DIARY. Also regarding the number of animagus, we have NINE REGISTERED, but as we have the proof with Rita and the three marauders who became animagii, not everyone registers. Any parent would take precautions no matter how rare the chance if someone dangerous had been that close to their children for years. Once again something that is a writer's choice to do so. If you want the books, read them, if you want fan fiction as well don't expect it to stick to the facts of the books. 

Chapter Seven

While Sirius was with the children, and in spite of wanting to avoid the Goblins until he had verified his findings, Severus found himself taking the Malfoy floo to the bank.

Remus and Severus were rather curious as to why Lucius had questioned them about the Potter accounts knowing that the blond had found something but that there was a reason he couldn't outright stated whatever it was. Arriving at Gringotts, carrying the official paperwork they were joined by an accounts manager.

They were soon told that they Potter estates were growing well and that other than the standard withdrawals everything had been plowed back into the estate for the last thirteen years.

"What standard withdrawals?" Severus asked.

The Goblin pulled out the paperwork and said "We have the Potter heir making withdrawals at the beginning of the school year for the last three years amounting to about hundred and fifty gallons total each year.

"That's all?" Severus asked. Looking at Lupin he said "We should speak to Harry, make sure that he knows he is allowed more."

"I agree." Lupin said astounded at the small amount. "What he took out would barely cover his books and uniforms and maybe a few treats here and there.

It explains a lot though." Snape replied wearing a dark frown as he thought about the rags the boy had been wearing as clothes.

"Now, we only have one other withdrawal from the vaults as Mr. Potter's Hogwarts education was paid when he was still an infant." The Goblin said. "The maintenance fund that was sent to his muggle relatives. Including the funds that were sent at the beginning of June so that he could purchase new summer clothes, the total in galleons is ninety thousand galleons averaging about seven thousand galleons a year."

Remus growled and requested a copy of the file. Reading that the money had been exchanged for muggle funds, he was finding it hard to retain his temper as he realized that the Dursleys had been paid over four hundred thousand pounds to take care of Harry.

"Thank you." Snape said as he accepted a copy of the file and followed Remus out of the room. In the hallway, he looked at Remus and said "A visit to Little Whinging?"

The two wizards apparated close to the park that Harry had told them about, transfigured their clothes into muggle wear and then putting on a notice me not charm, they walked the short distance to the Dursley home.

Knocking on the door, they found that there was no one home. Letting themselves in, they searched the home and found a small safe in the master bedroom. It was child's play to open it and inside they found the damning evidence.

Severus scanned the paperwork and said "I think that we need to relive them of what I am sure is their retirement fund."

"How?" Remus asked.

"Go find a hairbrush from their bathroom." Snape replied before copying the paperwork including certificates of birth and photocopies of passports. When Remus returned, Snape chuckled and said "That sister that Harry told us about, her entire operation is in her nephew's name but it looks like Dursley sank some of the money he got to support Harry into it.

Downstairs admiring his handiwork as he took in the disarray he was sure came from his time delay curse during their last visit, Snape looked through the muggle phone book and found the number he was looking for. A call later had a constable calling for his boss. "Sir, we just had an anonymous tip about an IRA safe house."

An hour later, Marge Dursley was in handcuffs and under arrest for attacking a police officer as the British Army, MI-5 and the local Scotland Yard detectives tore her property apart.

When DCI Smyth reported finding dead puppies buried in the back yard and another agent reporting that there was something fishy about the ownership papers for the farm, Marge just kept denying she knew anything until the men found a trap door and explosives and strange looking chemicals under it.

"It was like it was magic, it just popped open." One of the constables was telling another of the detectives who just patted him on the shoulder.

Marge took one look at the cache of weapons and the men who were still pointing their deadly weapons at her and sputtered out "I am innocent, I swear, I know nothing about those guns."

"They all claim to have no idea how they just happen to have weapons on their property." Remus who was under Harry's cloak could only chuckle as he watched the rather large woman being carted away. No one got away with treating Harry like she had and no one got away with calling Lily a bitch.

VESTA

Hermione had arrived back home to remind Harry that if he wanted to see Peter Pettigrew brought up before the Wizengamot they had to go now only to see him seated in the living room staring at the television.

"What?" Her mom gestured for her to be quiet as they heard the news anchor discussing how they had arrested Marge Dursley of nearby Chatsworth on various charges ranging from animal cruelty to aiding and abetting terrorists.

"Harry why is that name so familiar?" She asked.

"That is the woman I blew up last year." Harry said laughing as he struggled to believe that Marge Dursley was going to prison. He saw the uniformed officer stepping up to the podium and heard them talking about the arrest.

"Were there any injuries?" A reporter asked.

"We had an officer who was bit by a rather vicious dog that we had to sedate. Ms Dursley who remained rather defiant during her questioning became irate when she was informed that it is standard procedure to put down vicious dogs."

"Do you have any other persons of interest?" Yet another reporter asked.

"We have issued an arrest warrant for one Vernon Ballard Dursley, he is listed as an investor in the dog breeding operations as guardian for his underage son. While speaking to Mr. Dursley's neighbors we were told that the family had left on vacation last week. We have issued a warning that Mr. Dursley is to be considered armed and dangerous after it was reported by a neighbor that Mr. Dursley owns a gun and that it is also missing from the residence."

With that, Harry turned off the television and sat there shaking his head.

"Harry?" The raven haired boy looked at Hermione and then at Draco who seemed confused as to why Harry was so interested in the news story that had been shown after their movie had ended. "Are you okay?

"Yes." He said and then after a deep sigh realized that he was okay. Standing, he stretched, not noticing that Hermione's eyes had been drawn to his chest as he reached for the ceiling.

"We should head out." Hermione reminded him. Looking at her Mom and seeing she was wearing her gardening clothes, asked "Is Neville coming today?

"Yes. We are going to be moving the first of the cactus plants to his garden. Dear, where is Crookshanks?"

"My room." Draco said with a flush on his face. Seeing they were all looking his way, he said "We're friends, okay. I used to smuggle him into the Slytherin common room so that he could visit Bulstrode's cat. I had no idea whose cat he was until I arrived here the other night."

Hermione went to verify that Crookshanks was where Draco said he was and found the traitor curled up in the window seat sunning himself. "See if I give you any more salmon, you traitor."

Crookshanks just purred and Hermione would swear that her cat smirked at her. "Really?"

Crookshanks hopped down and with his back arched walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway pouncing on the back steps as he followed his pet's maternal unit out the back door.

"We should go, you still have to drink the polyjuice potion." Draco reminded Harry as they took the floo back to the manor. Hermione followed, her mind on the story Narcissa Malfoy had told her about the days news. She was enjoying learning the back story to the news almost as much as she was enjoying learning the ins and outs of why pureblood witches believed some of the things they did.

VESTA

Albus Dumbledore wasn't a happy wizard as he worked his way through the various offices of the Ministry. What should have simply been rubber stamped had instead been rejected. He didn't understand why there was so many issues with Hogwarts hosting the TriWizard tournament.

He had been working on this project for the last few years and had been excited at being the host school for the tournament. Just before the final paperwork had been signed between the three schools he had been rather unhappy to find out that they expected the Ministry for Magic to sign the paperwork as well as Hogwarts. Barty Crouch had been in a tizzy about the whole thing since he hated the current minister.

Albus had been expecting Fudge to agree with very few questions,the man was well known for enjoying the public aspects of being Minister. He had left for his yearly summer session with the ICW assured that everything would be approved, then he had started to hear quiet rumblings which he had dismissed as simple rabble rousing by Lucius Malfoy and his ilk. This weekend he had been rather surprised to find out that it wasn't only the pureblood faction objecting to his plan but that somehow the tournament was being voted on before the entire Wizengamot.

He had been shoring up support only to find that he had very little. Instead he had been questioned by each of the members about recent event that he had been keeping quiet at Hogwarts.

Arriving at the vote, he looked around expecting to find Lucius Malfoy and the purebloods to be there only to find that the only members of that faction were Flint, Nott and Warrington. He called for a vote on the contract expecting it to pass even if it was a close margin only to be forced to watch as it was rejected by a ratio of 3 to 1.

The entire court was released for lunch but Albus was stopped by a rather stern Amelia Bones who asked him if he had time to speak to her regarding Barty Crouch Senior. Hesitating but wanting to find out what she knew, Albus let her draw him back to her office and a Bones family house elf popped in with a nice lunch spread.

By the end of the interview, Albus was feeling sad at the waste of life. "I wish I knew more, Amelia but I haven't had much contact with Barty until we discussed the Triwizard tournament."

Amelia had been assured of that, from other sources. In truth, there was some who claimed that Crouch had been bitter about what he had considered Dumbledore abandoning him until he had needed his help. "One more thing, with Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban, Minister Fudge requested I go over his original trial but I cannot find the files. I spoke to Crouch Senior last week but all he remembered was Black's arrest at the attack that killed those muggles."

"We were so busy, the trials all ran into one another." Albus said with a humbled expression on his face. "I was so devastated by the loss of James and Lily then the attack on the Longbottoms."

"I do understand." Amelia said and then she watched with shuttered eyes as the Head of the Wizengamot quickly exited her office. Lifting the file she had covered, she shook her head and began to think that maybe there was more to Black's suspicions regarding how he had ended up in Azkaban without a trial.

VESTA

Harry swallowed the vial containing the polyjuice potion and winced as he suddenly looked like some random young wizard. He was walking towards the fireplace with Narcissa and Hermione only to be stopped by Severus who said "You will be attending with Remus who is also taking polyjuice."

Draco who had rushed up to his room and came back down wearing his family robes. He grimaced as his mother brushed his hair off his face and then moved over to Hermione where she soon was checking the younger girl's braids and that her robes covered her summer dress.

Harry looked into the nearby mirror and laughed when he saw that he had a dark tan and his hair was as curly as Hermione's in high humidity. When Remus soon sported matching looks, he laughed and then asked "Wait, I thought you had to show your wand to access the Ministry?"

"Normally you do, but Madam Bones has invited us to enter through her office." Remus explained.

"We however, will be entering through the floo in the entrance way." Narcissa stated to her son and apprentice. Nodding at Remus she stepped over fix Harry's robes before she threw some floo powder into the flames and in a ladylike manor went through to the Ministry soon followed by Draco and Hermione.

"Here goes nothing." Harry said softly as Remus and he flooed through to the Head of the DMLE. Falling onto his face, he muttered that he hated using the floo network while Madam Bones politely ignored the boy lying flat on her floor. When he was standing again and had brushed the soot off his robes, Harry quietly followed Remus through the crowd of people and was seated in the upper balcony to watch the upcoming fireworks.

He was about to speak to Remus about the crowd when he felt pressure on his feet. Looking up he saw a tall dark haired woman who oddly enough reminded him of Narcissa Malfoy as she tripped over his feet and went to sit with her friends nearby. They were all wearing what he now knew to be aurors uniforms.

"Sorry but that." The cheerful young woman said as she went to sit down. As she settled down, Harry winced as a sharp elbow hit him in the back of the head and then he felt her butt land on top of his hand. "Really, I do apologize."

With that, she flushed a nice shade of red and raised up her butt so that Harry could remove his hand but before he could, she lost her balance yet again and this time almost slipped over the railing and into the seating below.

It was only Moony's quick reflexes that saved the now red faced young woman who quickly apologized yet again and was pulled further down the row and into a seat a bit further away from them. Harry wanted to laugh but felt bad for the witch, he was so distracted by the drama he missed Fudge and company entering along with Dumbledore.

Looking around, Harry saw Hermione and Draco were seated on the lower seats and that the Headmaster did not look happy when he saw the young woman attending the Wizengamot session. As the first fifteen minute passed, mostly filled with procedural policies, he found himself looking at the crowd gathered in the gallery with Remus and him.

To his surprise, he saw Cho Chang with one of her friends. When he smiled at his classmate, to his shock, she sniffed and put her nose in the air. A bit hurt at the reaction, Harry just returned to observing the others nearby and soon saw that the clumsy young woman from earlier was also looking around but that her attention seemed to be on his godfather sitting next to him.

Leaning closer to Remus, he quietly said "That female auror is staring at you, sir."

Looking up, Remus saw that Harry was correct and with a slight frown returned to watching what was going on below, rather curious as to why Padfoot's niece was staring at him especially since she had been a child the last time she had seen him as Moony. He had been at first concerned about being in the Ministry as a werewolf but Madam Bones had given him a pass just in case anything went wrong today.

Albus was not in a good mood, he had lost the tournament for Hogwarts and now as Amelia Bones took the floor to explain what they had learned regarding Barty Crouch Senior and Junior, he was aware that no one had informed him until mere minutes before about the escaped Death Eater they had caught.

He had wondered if it was Sirius but knew that if it had been Black, Fudge would have been shouting it from the rooftops to make sure that the press gave them positive publicity on the subject. As he shook his head in all the right places to express dismay and regret for all that had gone on with the Crouches, he felt his ears perk up a bit when he heard about Percy Weasley and his new appointment.

After a few moments to prepare for the next speaker, Albus congratulated the middle Weasley boy and subtly reminded him that he had been the one to appoint him Head Boy and how much his family owed to the Headmaster.

"Now onto our next subject, the snafu regarding the overextending of seats for the Quidditch World Cup." Fudge was explaining about the unfortunate and unforeseen errors and how this meant that members of the Ministry were only being allotted four tickets per family.

Albus tuned it out, having already arranged for Ludo Bagman to offer his tickets to the Weasleys so that he could be sure that Harry would be in their debt this upcoming school year. After finding out about Ms. Granger's summer status, he was hoping to edge her out of that little grouping and replace her with the much more pliable Ms. Weasley.

He tuned back into the conversation as Fudge announced the upcoming trial of an escaped death eater. He had been looking around and had noticed that Lucius Malfoy wasn't attending court that day and was rather hoping than believing that the Ministry had caught up with the rather slippery snake.

Instead the prisoner arrived in a rather inhuman iron box on wheels. Standing up to protest the treatment of the prisoner, he was reminded that due to his having been sworn in for the summer session of the ICW he was there to observe and vote his seat by Madam Bones who was prosecuting the case.

Up in the balcony, Harry was returning from the hallway where he had drank a second dose of the polyjuice potion along with Remus. He saw the Head Auror open the door and then haul the prisoner out to the gasps of those in the room. He looked at the Headmaster and saw that the wizard looked completely surprised.

Harry kept his eyes on both the Headmaster and Peter himself as Minister Fudge told the rather incredible story of how Peter Pettigrew had appeared in Madam Bones' office along with a house elf and a young muggleborn witch named Hermione Granger.

Albus was startled by that news, even as he stared at Pettigrew who seemed to be stuck in the strangest pose he had ever seen in his life. The man could move his head but that seemed to be about it as his one arm was pointed in the air and his other hand was on his hip. His legs seemed to stuck together and Pettigrew seemed to list to one side.

Looking at the Granger girl, he wondered how she had captured Peter even as two aurors descended from the upper balcony to the Wizengamot floor to testify about what Pettigrew had confessed and how he had ended up in his present predicament.

When Croaker the public face of the Unspeakables was questioned, he explained how they were working on freeing Pettigrew from the misspell, then testified that using veritiaserum on the Death Eater wouldn't hurt the man.

"One question, did you find that Peter Pettigrew's arm contained the Dark Mark?" Madam Bones asked while Pettigrew's appointed attorney just sat there, knowing he was representing a guilty man.

"Yes." Croaker replied and then when requested gave Pettigrew three drops of the truth potion.

As the rat spilled his guts, starting with his earliest crimes and moving forward to his recent actions at Hogwarts, Albus winced at the glares coming his way for not knowing that he had had an illegal animagus on campus for several years.

Fudge was feeling triumphant when Madam Bones asked Pettigrew what he had been doing when he was caught at the Black Manor by the house elf.

"I had barely escaped Hogwarts and I wanted someplace to hide. I ended up at the Crouch residence because I hid in Barty Crouch Senior's robe pocket after he had visited Hogwarts. I saw his son and tried to rescue Barty but knew I needed more help because the Crouch house elf Winky kept him on a tight rein. Barty came up with a plan to return our master to his rightful place in the world. We were going to use the tournament his father was helping arrange at Hogwarts to kidnap Harry Potter and give him to our lord as a present."

The mutterings and rather self satisfaction at having already been pro-active enough to cancel said tournament had the Wizengamot feeling smug as the rat confessed to his plan to retrieve his master from Albania. He even confessed to his plan of using the muggle Chunnel to get to mainland Europe.

Fudge watched as Madam Bones explained how they had no way of protecting against a wizard's animagus form at Azkaban and how it was on the records that in the case of capital criminal cases involving wizards with animagus forms was to send them through the veil.

There was silence as she called for a vote. The nays were only Dumbledore who still had a vote and maybe a few off his older followers, everyone else voted aye.

"Peter Pettigrew, at eleven fifty nine tonight, you will be pushed through the veil. May Merlin have mercy on your soul." Fudge announced as the convicted criminal was led out of the room. At the Podium, Fudge gave a slight cough and then said "Twelve years ago there was grave miscarriage of justice. Today we have righted that wrong. Sirius Orion Black was declared a free man earlier this week and has been gracious enough to take his back pay instead of the rightful funds he would have received as an innocent man sent to prison."

Albus didn't like where he thought this was going, he didn't like it at all and was about to stand when Fudge began to speak again. "Mr. Black is the rightful guardian of the son of James and Lily Potter. Harry Potter is his godson."

There were now growing mutters as Fudge held up his hand and said "Yes, yes, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black deserve to be reunited. It was Mr. Potter's very good friend, Vesta Apprentice Hermione Granger who helped find the true guilty party."

With that, Fudge indicated the pretty teen girl seated near Narcissa Malfoy who looked every bit the part of Vesta Apprentice when she saw all eyes upon her. "On behalf of a grateful court, thank you, Apprentice Granger."

"Now I have spoke to Mr. Black, he is here in the building." Fudge said as Alastar Moody entered the room with Sirius Black wearing his old uniform of an Auror. When Sirius was standing next to Fudge, he shook the man's hand and announced to the audience. "Mr. Black has been medically cleared by Boudica Pomfrey herself. Over the next two months, Mr. Black will be taking his rightful place in our world including his position as godfather to young Harry Potter. However, he out of concern for disrupting Mr. Potter's family life has agreed that he will remain in the custody of his current legal guardians."

Fudge saw the pleased expression on Dumbledore's face and hid his need to smirk at getting one over on the old goat. Harry Potter's current legal guardians were Remus Lupin, werewolf who had legal custody on the muggle world and Severus Snape, one of Dumbledore's own people in the magical world along with Sirius Black.

With that, court was adjourned and many of the various factions on the Wizengamot all wanted to shake the hand of now reinstated wizard. Fudge stepped back to allow the crowds to move closer to their target as he moved closer to Dumbledore.

"I hope you are pleased." Fudge said knowing that Dumbledore most likely wasn't at least not if he had guessed right.

When Albus made all the right comments but didn't move closer to Black, Fudge quickly exited the room and walked towards his office. Once in there, he sat down behind his desk and awaited the visitor he knew would be arriving soon.

Sure enough, his undersecretary arrived, rather upset that her new bill wasn't on the agenda. Looking at her, he thought about Lucius Malfoy's recommendation and smoothly said "I have rethought the ministry's position on the bill and we have decided to scrap it, Delores."

Watching as the woman turned a rather ugly shade of green that made her resemblance to a toad even more unfortunate, Fudge piled on the disappointments. "In truth, we have decided that changes are going to have to be made. I have met the most interesting young woman, this Vesta Apprentice Hermione Granger and think that maybe we should consider doing more to bring talented young witches and wizards like her into the ministry."

"That won't be acceptable to those who share our blood status." Delores pointed out.

"Don't you mean my blood." Fudge stated and when he saw her tense, he smiled at her and said "For a woman whose mother was a muggle, you seem to..."

Delores felt the need to faint as he slid a file closer to her.

"I am not firing you from the ministry for your blood status, Delores." He said thinking on his newly changed position regarding blood status. "I happen to think that the Ministry needs more diversity not less. However, the fact you lied...well that can't ignored."

Delores was handed a memo and turned puce and now gray as she exited the Minister's office. Seated in her own, she struggled to regain control of her anger as she gathered her things and vowed to be back where she belonged and to take down whoever it was that ratted her own.

Heading to her new office, she heard the snickers and the jeers as she sat down across from a rather nervous red head who handed over the files. "As you can see the Minister and his office have taken charge of the World Cup. All that is left is supervising the concession staff and the after charges."

She found herself gritting her teeth as the overly officious boy in front of her gave her a checklist and said that if she needed anything or had any questions, he was now working for the Head Auror and could be contacted at his office.

Delores sat down in what was now her office. Her hands were trembling as she struggled to control her rage. Looking at the files, all signed by a damn eighteen year old wizard. The rather unhappy woman was sitting at her desk, wondering how this had all gone so wrong...

Once free of the press and well wishers, Sirius found the Headmaster and decided to jab the man a bit. "Quite the turnabout, isn't it?"

"Yes, I am happy for you." Albus said as he gripped Sirius's hand to shake it. He decided to ask what was really on his mind. "Might I suggest waiting to see Harry until he has left the Dursleys this summer. I promised them no magic. I will arrange for Harry to move from the Dursleys to the Weasley family home so that you may spend some time with your godson there."

"Albus, while I appreciate all you have done for Harry and myself, it is now my choice where Harry spends his summers. While the Weasleys are a wonderful family, I am rather uncomfortable with Harry spending so much time with that particular family when he doesn't know the truth about their past with his own family."

The Headmaster began smiling at Sirius and said "Of course, my boy. However, we must take into account that Harry and Ron are best of friends and that he is close to the younger Weasley children as well. After all he risked his life to rescue young Ginevra during his second year at school. They are a little young but I do see a resemblance to Harry's parents in the two youngsters and I am rather afraid that we might create unneeded obstacles to young love if we were to fill his ears with poisonous one sided tales. After all your own history isn't exactly white, Mr. Black."

With that Albus left, knowing that there was no way that young Sirius would ever be willing to let his godson know about how his own arrogance and selfishness had almost cost a young witch her life. As he pondered a way to tell the story to the boy that would keep his own hands clean, Albus was also trying to find a way to tell him another story in a way that made Molly the saint and maybe have Harry think that Lily wasn't as pure as everyone led him to believe. After all it was imperative that Harry be close to the Weasleys.

VESTA

Arthur Weasley was not having a good day. He had avoided Albus when the Headmaster had visited his floor earlier that day knowing that the man would be disappointed about the world cup snafu and how it would effect young Harry. Add that to his wife being upset with the note she had received from Minerva McGonagall that morning and he had been rather glad to be able to escape the Burrow and go to work.

Instead of work being the relief from tension, instead it had been a mess. He had been paid a visit from Alastor Moody that had been very unsettling as he had questioned him about various items he had confiscated over the last few years.

It seems as if the Unspeakables had been very interested in those items whereabouts and Arthur had no answers that wouldn't get him fired. The Headmaster had been rather interested in them and Arthur had passed them to the Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot in spite of knowing that it was a rather gray area.

He knew he had to speak to Dumbledore but at the same time, he was hiding knowing that it was not going to be pretty. Filing his paperwork on the raid he had just supervised, Arthur was considering going to the Leaky Cauldron when he heard his name.

Looking up to see Lucius Malfoy standing in front of him, Arthur couldn't help thinking his bad day only needed this, a visit from the person he hated most on this earth.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

"I need with you regarding the Quidditch World Cup." The aristocrat announced. "As you may be aware of Ms. Granger is my wife's Vesta Apprentice. I know of her closeness to your younger children. While I am sure that I am the last person who you would consider accepting tickets from, please consider that we have already offered two tickets to Ms. Granger which will cover herself and Mr. Potter, I am here to give you two more tickets for your youngest two children so that they may join their friends at the world cup."

"No thank." Arthur spat out.

"Fine." Lucius said as he began to walk away. "If you change your mind, please send a note to Ms. Granger letting us know."

Arthur sat there, shaking his head, angry at the idea of THAT MAN offering him anything. He knew he should send a note to Albus but he really couldn't deal with the man's disappointment so he looked at the clock and decided to send a note to his son Bill requesting he join him at the Leaky Cauldron.

VESTA

By the end of the week, things had begun to settle down at Malfoy manor. Narcissa had finished her renovation of the Black manor and was showing it off to Lucius who to his own surprise found that it did not resemble the dark house that he had once spirited his own wife out of.

"I wouldn't know it was the same building, Cissa." He said pressing a kiss to her cheek since they were completely alone. "How did you manage?"

"Oddly enough after the Goblins finished their inspections and their removal of the various dark objects, it was Remus Lupin who came up with the plan to move walls and add windows." she said as they moved through the brightly light home. Once in the new parlor and seated on the comfortable sofa, she reached out for Lucius hands and said "I think this assignment wasn't about the remodeling but me facing my fears."

Lucius looked at his wife, saw that she was truly at home in the house where she had almost died and asked "Are you okay?"

A soft smile grew on her lips as she looked around and said "Yes, I am. It's just a house. Walburga is dead, my parents are dead and the evil they tried to perpetuate, it's gone. I have something I need to ask you about, my love."

When she had his full attention, she took a deep breath and said "I need to do one more thing. I need to face Bellatrix. I need to see she isn't and might never have been Bella, my beloved sister. I am going to visit Andy again and this time, I am going to actually knock on the door and speak to her."

Pulling his wife into his arms, he held her close, her head resting on his heart and just sat there for several minutes. Looking down at the top of her head, he inquired "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I think I need to do this by myself. At least regarding Andy. I am going to ask her to go with me at a later point to see Bellatrix." She said her face still buried into his robe. "So what was it you needed to speak to me about?"

"Nothing so dramatic. I just wanted to mention that I am going to be giving Draco the talk when he arrives home this weekend." He stated. Sensing her confusion, he flushed a bit himself as he said "He is fourteen and well, there has been an issue with the Parkinson girl. I already dealt with her father and made it clear that no betrothal exists and that if she keeps attempting to sneak into Draco's bed I will be pressing line theft charges against her."

"Oh, that talk." She said as she tilted back to look into his eyes. "Better make sure you have plenty of whiskey for afterwards. I recall the last time you had a similar talk with our son, that time about body changes. I found you in your study with your head on your desk and an empty decanter."

"He asked so many questions." Lucius said with a heavy sigh. "I didn't know whether to be proud or annoyed."

"Hermione and I will be in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon." Narcissa stated. "

"Severus and the others intent to take Harry to his parent's grave on Saturday. Those muggles told the boy that his parents were drunks who died in a car crash, it's how they explained the scar. Hagrid was the one who told him the truth." Lucius said his disgust telling her what he thought about that.

TBC

Up Next:

Hermione and Harry have a talk.

Draco and Lucius talk.

Harry sees the Malfoy kitchen.


	9. The TALK

Chapter Nine 

It was Friday evening and Hermione watched as Draco dragged his feet as he carried his bag to the fireplace. The blond had already said goodbye to her parents and his father had found a counter spell to the one Draco had placed on Hermione's dad.

Her mother was out in the conservatory once again working with Neville to remove the last of the cactus plants. She had been impressed with Neville's skill and dedication. Looking at the blond, she bit her lip knowing that she was going to have fulfill her part in the bet between Draco and herself.

"Don't look so serious, Granger." Draco said as he leaned against the back of a chair in the parlor. "You know, I heard somewhere that honesty is the best policy."

"How did you know?" She asked looking his way and ignoring the obvious chance to poke him regarding his statement. "About Ron?"

"I have been watching the three of you; a few of the Slytherins figured it out." He said. "You tend to lean into Harry when it is just the two of you, but when it is just Ron and yourself, you look bored or annoyed, never like you are enjoying his company. You know, he sees himself as better than you when it comes to his being a pureblood, he just hides it better."

With a slight bite of her lip, she admitted "I have seen it. I also know that it isn't about magic, more like a sort of Ron thing."

"You hate me for it, for believing I thought I was better than you, but you befriend him." Draco quietly said. "Why?"

"Harry doesn't see it, not yet." She admitted her eyes on her feet. "Ron was his first friend, ever. He doesn't see that Ron feels superior to him. Ron wanted someone to be better than after growing up with all of his brothers."

"Have you told him?" Draco asked.

"I don't want to hurt him. Unfortunately I have learned of some other things I can't avoid telling him. When I tell him those things, he will learn the truth about a lot of other stuff." she said feeling sad. If Harry didn't believe her, she would lose him and that was almost beyond her ability to accept.

There was the sound of someone apparating outside and they saw Lucius entering her house and walking over to Draco. "Miss Granger."

"Mr. Malfoy." she replied. "My father will be right back. He is helping out our next door neighbor."

"I wanted to thank your mother as well if she is home." The blond replied politely.

"She is in the conservatory with Neville Longbottom transferring cactus plants." Hermione replied while Draco offered to show him the way.

Lucius followed his son across the large back garden, past the well landscaped pool and into the glass enclosed room. He could hear the voice of the young Longbottom heir as he discussed grafting between fruit trees with Ms. Granger's mother.

A half hour later, Draco followed his father through the floo after thanking the Grangers for hosting him. He went to his room and after placing his own bag inside, sauntered downstairs to join his family for dinner.

Greeting Potter who was already eating, he soon was seated at the table and listening to his mother and father talking about her meeting that day with her fellow Vesta initiates.

"So Potter, how is the revising going?" Draco asked as he struggled to find something to talk about that would be considered polite dinner conversation. In truth a small part of him, the part that still felt the snub on what happened on the train first year wanted to rub it into Harry's face that Ron was a git.

"Fine, I just wish I had taken the Runes and Arithmancy classes this year instead of Divination." He replied sounding astonished that Draco could make polite conversation. "I should have done more research before choosing my electives."

"Rune is okay but I do enjoy Arithmancy." Draco admitted. "I only wish I could drop History."

"You and every other witch and wizard." Harry replied. "I don't understand how we are to learn history from someone who died over a hundred years ago. It's not like history just froze because Binns died. In the last hundred years a lot of history has been made but we aren't taught it because our teacher is stuck on teaching us about Goblin wars  
that happened in the sixteenth century. We end up missing a lot of important facts. It's one of Hermione's favorite laments."

"True, but you must remember, your Headmaster was taught by Professor Binns when he was still alive." Narcissa said as Lucius and she heard what they are talking about.

Harry sat down his fork and looked at Mrs. Malfoy and said "That sort of proves my point, Mrs. Malfoy. If this man was teaching when the Headmaster was a student and we all know he hasn't changed his curriculum, clearly things are not up to date and no one has noticed."

"Ah, but Mr. Potter people have noticed." Lucius replied. "However, out of I would charitably call nostalgia, the Headmaster has fought against the Board of Governors from updating History of Magic."

"Great, so until this changes, History stays a free nap time for most of the student body." Draco retorted.

"Unfortunately it was the same way when we were students." Narcissa said smirking at her husband as she recalled him sleeping in class. She had had history of magic after him her first year and he had frequently looked half awake as he exited the class.

VESTA

Early the next morning, Harry went through the floo to join Hermione in a walk to the park near her home in Crawley. The two teenagers had realized that they had so much to tell each other and that they had had very little chance to do so thanks to the changes in their lives.

Finding an empty park bench, Hermione offered Harry two of the orange juices from her bag while he offered her two of his muffins, he said "Mr. Malfoy was on the only one up when I left. I wrote a note for everyone."

"Mom wants to go shopping later on today." Hermione said as she looked down at the muggle clothes, it was the first time in days she had had a chance to wear khaki shorts and t-shirt. Looking at Harry she asked. "Have you written to Ron?"

"Last night. It's awkward because I don't know what to tell him about my living situation and my godfathers. You know he is going to flip when he hears about Snape." Harry said with a weak grin. "I did tell him that I might not be able to attend the Quidditch Cup with his family. I didn't go into details though."

"Ginny wrote me a note about his mom wanting to host a surprise birthday party for you." She warned.

Groaning, Harry said "Remus and Sirius want to have a party for me and invite all of our school friends. I heard from Remus that the house Sirius inherited and that Mrs. Malfoy and you remodeled is ready. They don't want to move me from the manor however in case the headmaster finds out."

"You know, I have an idea. Why don't we host your party at my house?" Hermione said getting excited. "That way we can hide where you really live and no one will get their feelings hurt."

"Its a disaster in the making, Mione." Harry pointed out. "On one hand we have the Weasleys, who have been great to me. Mrs. Weasley didn't even know me when she sent me Christmas presents that first year. On the other hand, we have my godfathers. Something tells me that Snape might not exactly enjoy being around all of us but he would insist on being there because he is my godfather. Then we have the Malfoys who we both now have connections to. I couldn't have a birthday party and not invited them."

"That is why my idea is perfect." Hermione said with a smug grin on her face. "Let me talk to my mom, she will know what to do."

Harry knew that face, it was Hermione's I am in charge face so Harry shrugged and let her do just that. "I have so much to tell you."

"Oh, before we get into that, the news last night said that your aunt and uncle went to their broker yesterday and withdrew a huge sum of money and that they are on the run." Hermione filled Harry in on all of the details of who the broker was and how much money they had gotten before they had escaped the police yet again.

After eating their breakfast, Harry began to fill Hermione in on all he had learned over the last two weeks. "Mr. Malfoy spoke to the Board of Governors along with Neville's grams and they are requesting an inventory be done and delivered this week on all of the books in the library at Hogwarts including which are in the restricted section."

"I had seen the plaque at the magical library in Diagon Alley, and their own library so maybe the Malfoys might be able to get our school library updated." Hermione said in a hopeful tone and then giggled. Seeing Harry looking her way, she said "I never thought I would ever be thinking that way about anyone with the Malfoy name."

They were quiet for a few minutes then Harry told her about the Headmaster sealing his birth certificate. "It's why we did the blood ritual to increase the protections on me. The Headmaster somehow misunderstood what my mom did and he weakened the protection on me."

"So it was tied to your godfathers?" Hermione asked rather curious as to what this meant to protect her friend.

"Sirius and Snape were already blood protecting me already before we did the ritual. Now it adds Remus into it." Harry replied. "I wish I could tell you about it, but something happened and they swore me to secrecy."

"What else have I missed?" She asked

Harry told Hermione about the Headmasters attempted manipulation and how he had known about Harry's inheritance and how he could have lived someplace other than the Dursleys.

Harry told her about the nutrient potions and Hermione nodded adding "I am not surprised you need them. We burn more calories than non magicals and if we don't listen to our bodies, we can burn out our magical core."

"I have a house elf that appears every morning when I eat breakfast who let's Snape know if I don't eat what he considers enough. The elf also sends me away with snacks. While we have been studying, Remus and he have made me take snack breaks every hour." Harry said grinning a bit as he thought about the house elf who stood over him to be sure he obeyed Snape. "I'm going to be fat pretty soon."

"Harry!" Hermione laughed as he held his breath and tried to make himself look bloated. Looking around park which other than a few joggers was pretty quiet, she asked him if there was another else?

"I overheard a conversation between Snape and Lucius Malfoy." He said as he told her what the two men had been talking about. When Hermione bit her lip, he asked "What is it?"

"I overheard Mr. Weasley telling his wife that the Headmaster had suggested the homes to be raided. At the time, I just figured it was part of his job as Chief Wizard but after my summer reading I learned that normally he wouldn't have any connections to cases until they went before the Wizengamot."

"Sirius told me that those devices that whirl and emit smoke in the headmaster's office are probably all tied to me in some fashion or another. He wants to look them over but he knows that at least one of them was a Potter heirloom that is tied to the health of the heir, meaning me." Harry said feeling miserable at the knowledge. "Part of me doesn't want to believe it."

Hermione rested her head on his shoulder, feeling bad that she was about to give him even more bad news about people he trusted. When she felt Harry's hands fold into hers, she looked up at her friend who had a rather serious expression on his face. "What is it?"

"A-after what happened on Halloween first year, I swore to myself to always do what I knew was right over what is easy when it came to Ron and you, I betrayed that this year." He said feeling sick at how he had let her down yet again by choosing Ron's side over hers. "The broom, you were right to go to McGonagall. I overreacted and I am sorry, Hermione."

"I should have talked to you first, but I was so scared you would go flying and would end up hurt, I went behind your back." she said.

"I wish you had spoken to me first but I understand why you didn't." He said. "I let Ron's attitude guide my own."

"He is a little Quidditch obsessed isn't he." Hermione said with a sigh as she realized she would have to wait to tell him about her own impressions of Ron. Hopefully she would work up the courage before fulfilling her bet with Malfoy. "Though, I think that Oliver Wood would have reacted the same way."

"Hermione, want to know a secret?" He asked and then before she could even answer he said "I like Quidditch and even playing seeker but what I really love is flying. I love the wind in my hair, the freedom it gives me."

VESTA

Bill exited the house to talk to a sullen Ron who was in the garden. His brother had been upset since his father had told the family about the ticket offer from Lucius Malfoy. Finding Ron lying on the grass, staring up at the sky, he sat down next to him and asked "How are you doing?"

Ron looked over at Bill and admitted. "It's hard sticking to my principals. I know that it is wrong but at the same time, it's the Quidditch cup. Plus Hermione and Harry will be there, it just sucks."

"I know." He replied. Looking down at Ron, he said "Last week something set you off and it wasn't just not being able to attend the Quidditch Cup."

Sitting up a bit, so that he was leaning on his elbows, Ron said. "I hate being poor. It's not just the Quidditch cup, it's second hand books. My wand got broke second year and it wasn't until last summer I got a new one which only happened because Mom and Dad won that contest. If most of my classmates had broken their wand, they could just go buy a new one. My owl was given to me, my rat was a hand me down that was an death eater."

"I started Hogwarts with a second hand cauldron, my wand was our Uncle's and my books, at least most of them were used, Ron." Bill stated. "I still managed to be head boy, it's not impossible to achieve your goals no matter how much money you have."

"Still it sucks being poor." Ron said.

"Ron, if you don't want to be poor, do something about it." Bill said. Seeing his brother frowning, he sighed and said "Get a job next summer. It's what both Charlie and I did. I know that the twins have spent the summer keeping busy working on their own futures. Percy has often spent summers at the Ministry with dad. Why do you think he did that?"

"Percy is a ass kissing berk, that's why." Ron muttered, still angry about the Quidditch cup situation. "Besides, why should I have to work? It's not like Malfoy, Harry or even Neville Longbottom has to work during the summer."

"Ron, the difference is that all three of those boys are the sole heirs to large family fortunes. Even if we had been comfortably off, dad would have split it between all of us so you would have had to work."

"That's not fair." Ron cried out.

"Ron have you ever once thought of the trade off those three did for all that money?" Bill asked sharply.

His mind still on new racing brooms and nice clothes, the teenager muttered "It would be worth it. I hate being poor.

"So in exchange for your friend Harry's large vault, you would be willing to live with people who hate you?" He asked.

"Yes, because in the end I would be richer than them and can rub it in their face." Ron said.

"What about the fact that to inherit your entire family would have to die? Or did you forget that small fact?" Bill asked in a sharp tone. "All of your brothers and Ginny gone, no parents to hug you, to tell you that they love you? You would exchange all of that for money?"

Ron's mouth was moving but no words came out as he looked at Bill stunned as he struggled to understand. "Harry would still be rich and famous even if his parent's were alive. Besides, Neville's parents are alive."

"Alice and Frank Longbottom are in a hospital and have been for years and frankly that Malfoy boy lives with knowledge that everyone believes he is evil because of a mistake his father made. I know from your letters that the kid is a pain in the rear, but Ron, if you had to trade lives with him for a week, you just might realize that his life is not easy." Bill replied thinking about how when he had first started Hogwarts, the comments about his mum.

"Still, it's not fair." Ron muttered as if it was the most important part of their discussion.

"Ronald, you had better get used to understanding that life isn't fair and learn that if you want to change things, it takes hard work as much as determination." Bill replied as he stood to go back inside.

VESTA

Hermione began catching Harry up on the various things she had begun learning as a Vesta apprentice, her visit with the magical hairdresser had him chuckling as she confessed while blushing that she had enjoyed learning his charms. Next she told him about her meeting with the Minister and his rather interesting outfit. "It was strange learning that Professor Snape and your mom were friends."

"Mom and Dad sent him a letter and he let me read it. It was hard to read that my dad had been a bully." He said with a frown. "Worse still when we found out about the curse on Snape."

Shivering at the thought of Voldemort still having the ability to affect someone from his grave, Hermione said "Is it strange having him as a godfather?"

Harry looked over at her and then admitted "No, what is strange is how normal it feels."

When Hermione told him about Narcissa Malfoy's intentions to cook, he let out out a small chuckle and said "Well maybe, I can help with that. After all I can cook."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Hermione looked at him and said "I was hoping you would offer to do that. I really don't want to burn down Malfoy Manor. Draco enjoyed his time here and he might want to move back."

That statement had them both laughing.

"The second assignment, when Narcissa told me about it, she mentioned that she blamed Sirius for something that happened there." Hermione told him again.

"I know that it happened after Sirius ran away from home and moved in with my parents. I know that Dobby was involved too."

"That might explain why he was so angry at Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione said telling him the entire story of her first trip to the house on Grimmauld including Dobby calling her Harry Potter's Miss Grangy. "The third assignment assigned to her was to rescue you and help you be placed with a family who would care for you. I think she pretty much succeeded in that one."

"She did." Harry said with a grin that faded for a second as he looked at Hermione and told her. "Though, when Remus and Sirius heard the story of our first three years, I was lucky that I wasn't smothered in hugs or strangled. Snape however is forcing me to write an essay about what happened regarding each event and how I should have done things differently."

"I live in fear of them telling my parents." Hermione admitted.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." He said with a guilty expression on his face. "They agreed to not tell the Weasleys the entire story and the same with your parents as long as I promise to think before acting in the future. You have more to worry about Mr. Malfoy telling them. He was pretty pissed that they made that deal with me."

"He is different than I expected him to be." Hermione said. "Draco too. When Narcissa Malfoy told me why he took Care of Magical Creatures I did feel a bit bad for him in spite of what he did to Buckbeak."

Harry bit his lip and said "I looked at the textbook that the previous teacher used from my dad's days. Hagrid started with too big of a creature. Sirius and Remus both blame him as much as Draco for what happened. Mr. Malfoy also confessed that he wasn't trying to get the hippogriff killed but Hagrid fired. I don't like that, either."

"I still don't like that he tried to take it out on Buckbeak." Hermione said in a huffy tone. "Harry, still, I hate to admit it, but Hagrid shouldn't be teaching. He is my friend too, but I have to admit..."

"I know." Harry quietly said as they sat there silent for a few minutes as the sun rose higher into the sky.

When Hermione told Harry about how Snape had looked at her memories and said she wanted to learn how to do that, he looked sideways at her and said "I don't."

"Harry, we might need to learn how to block someone from reading ours and there is a book about it. If only because of how many people are so interested in your life." She pointed out.

"I will ask Snape about it along with Sirius." He said with a sigh. "I hate how people treat me different."

"I know." She told Harry about seeing Tracy Davis and how she had reacted to seeing Hermione. "It made me understand how you feel all of the time. Oh, I knew I forgot to tell you something."

With that Hermione told Harry about what had been done to his mom regarding her wedding. "Mrs. Malfoy didn't say who it was but I figured that Sirius might know."

She saw Harry's clenched fists and reached down to place her hand over his and said "Ask Sirius about it, Harry."

"I will, still who on earth could possibly think or even use that phrase, scarlet woman?" Harry said shaking his head to clear away his anger. "I hate how I know nothing about my parents. How I have to learn it from others."

Hermione skipped telling Harry about her bet with Draco, wanting to put that off as long as possible as she discussed explaining muggle culture to the blond.

Harry glared at a nearby tree when he heard that she had worn a bikini around Draco until he head how the other boy had just ignored how Hermione was a girl. "I wanted to drown him by the end of the first day."

VESTA

Bill saw his father exiting his shed and walked out to join him needing once again to his escape his mother and the chaos of the Burrow. He had been spending time with his father and was now seeing him through adult eyes after a trip this week to the pub. Looking at his father, Bill asked. "What is it?"

Arthur told his son about Ludo Bagman, Albus and the tickets for the Quidditch cup. "I just don't know what to do about the man."

"I hate to say it, but the Headmaster is way too interested in Harry Potter, dad. Ron and the twins told me a bit about their last couple of years and frankly what I told Mum and you about thinking there is something wrong at Hogwarts is even more true."

"I have been thinking the same thing this summer." Arthur admitted. "The story of Sirius Black not having a trial, Crouch's suicide, the wanting to host the TriWizard tournament. There have been so many questions about it at the Ministry that I just can't help wondering if you are right."

Bill looked at his father, wishing he could tell him about what he had learned on the assignment to the Black London home. His supervisor had sent a request to the Unspeakables after a meeting with a goblin he hadn't know and there had been whispers all week at the bank regarding Dumbledore.

VESTA

In a conference room at Gringotts, Lucius looked over at Harry Potter's godfathers and then at the two Goblins and the Unspeakable before glancing over at Amelia Bones who was conferring with the auror she had brought with her.

He was bemused to notice that the goblin was in standard dress, the Unspeakable in a gray robe, the aurors in their brightly colored uniform and those who were closest to Harry were wearing black lightweight summer robes.

When Croaker stood and requested everyone's attention, he said "I received a visit from the Head of Gringotts this week regarding an artifact that was found at your family home, Mr. Black."

"What did my insane family do now?" He asked with a weary sigh.

"You should know that this object was found in the hands of a house elf named Kreachure. He was given an assignment by your late brother to destroy said object but he didn't succeed. Now, while we don't often share our finds with the public, in this case we have no choice especially regarding the events at Hogwarts during the 92/93 school year."

Lucius turned a interesting shade of green as they placed the journal he had given to the Weasley girl on the table.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you please tell us about how you were affected by this book?"

Blanching at being so open with so many people in the room and at first attempting to lie only to realize he couldn't, Lucius filled in the others about how he had been led around by the book.

Croaker saw the frown on Madam Bones' face and said "He isn't lying, he was truly affected by this book. We need to hear about the true nature of it's effects."

"Why is this important?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked.

"This book was a successful horcrux." Croaker stated and saw that only Snape, Black and Malfoy seemed to understand what he was saying. Not that that was a total surprise, after all they were the three most exposed to dark magic. Looking at Bones, he explained "A horcrux is the darkest of dark magic and is created by a ritual in which the person creating one murders an innocent and then seals part of his soul into an inanimate object. It's done with the intention of bringing that wizard or witch back to life."

"HOLY MERLIN." Kingsley said as he sank into a nearby chair. "How?"

"Who?" Amelia Bones asked wanting the wizard to confirm what she was already thinking.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort." Croaker replied. Seeing everyone in the room shuddering, he said "The good news, I think he tried to create more than one."

"How on earth could that be good news?" Snape demanded.

"Simply put, it won't work. You will believe it worked, you will lose part of your soul each time you did this, but it splits your soul in half. First time leaving one half of your original soul, the second time one fourth, the third time one eight etc."

Croaker saw their confusion in the silence and said "Riddle, if he had stopped after creating the journal would have been able to use it to anchor his soul to earth and to retrieve himself using it at a later date."

"So he can't use it?" Amelia Bones asked.

"He could have used the journal but it wouldn't have returned him completely, more like made him exist for hours, no longer." Croaker said. Croaker pulled out the second object and laid it on the table. "From what we have extrapolated, this contains one sixty-fourth of Riddle's soul and is pretty much the equivalent of a muggle paper weight. It might affect someone if they were to wear it, allowing him to torment them, but anchor his soul, no."

"How many?" Amelia Bones asked. "How many did he create?"

Croaker pulled out a third object and laid it on the table. "This was found by the Goblins in the vault of one Bellatrix Black Lestrange. It contained one eighth of his soul. Like the locket, it has had it removed by a ritual. Mr. Black willing revoked her marriage and the Goblins seized her vault to repay her bride price."

"How many?" Bones repeated her demand.

"I believe six, with one being accidental." Croaker said with a smug grin on his face. Seeing the glares directed his way, he chuckled and said "You are all missing the big picture."

"WHAT DO YOU FIND IN THIS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT?" Bones snarled.

"We have accounted for all of them." Croaker answered.

"Wait, how do you know six?" Lucius asked.

"We found the sixth at the home of the Potters in Godric's Hollow. It was in the nursery and thankfully it landed under the floor board when he blew up the room." Croaker answered. "It's magical signature shows it to have been created by the death of Lily Potter and it is thanks to her that his reign of terror ended and that it is unlikely he will be able to ever regain corporal form."

"Begin at the beginning." Sirius demanded.

"One, the journal, created by the death of one student at Hogwarts who is now a ghost." Croaker answered. "Destroyed by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. Albus Dumbledore tried to cover up the facts but thanks to a student the truth was outed."

"Two is a ring, we located it and are intending on destroying it when we have removed the curse on it. It was created by the death of Tom Riddle Sr. We found it thanks to having the cup, it acted light a guiding rod."

"Three was the cup, my guess would be the death of the previous owner and it has been destroyed." Croaker said pointing to the cup. "Four was tiara owned by Rowena Ravenclaw, found at Hogwarts by an unnamed source via the Goblins, it was destroyed immediately. No idea who was killed. The person who helped use the cup to locate it."

"Fifth was the locket, once owned by Salazar Slytherin and his heir, the young Guant girl, Riddle's mother sold it to a pawnbroker. It's why it is so late in the list of items. Located at the Grimmauld estate of Mr. Black by a cursebreaker, he destroyed it and will be receiving a huge bonus from his bosses."

"Six is the last item created, does the rune on it look familiar, Mr. Black?" Croaker asked as he laid down the object on the table. Hearing everyone gasp at the rune in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"That's a potion's knife." Severus said.

"More specifically it is the potion's knife that belonged to Salazar Slytherin. It was lost centuries ago. The lightning bolt shaped rune is the letter S for Slytherin. It was Goblin made which added to Riddle's downfall." Croaker said.

"Harry's scar?" Remus asked worried about his godson.

"When Riddle killed Lily Potter, her love for her son and the blood ritual sent a large magical backlash at him. When I heard about his wraith form I was curious so I did a little research." Croaker said. "Basically Lily Potter tapped into her magical core and drained Riddle's life force even as she died. The knife in his hand heated up and Riddle in his determination to fight, tried to kill Harry Potter."

"The blood protection, it was what caused the scar?" Remus said as he began to understand.

"Yes, the knife couldn't penetrate her protections on her son. Riddle managed to stab the boy in the head, but before the knife went in too deep, he was vaporized. Why we have to talk about things is this, this knife contains the one sixty-fourth of Riddle's soul, but it also contains a part of Lily Potter's."

There was again silence as they looked at the knife.

Shacklebolt who hadn't known the Potters asked "Does that mean she can be revived?"

"No, because Lily Potter didn't attempt to create the horcrux, but what we can do is find out if there is a portrait of Lily Potter and return the memories in it to a portrait for her son." Croaker said.

"They had them made but in spite of looking at the inventories for all of the Potter estates and their vaults, we can't find them. The magical inventory shows them having been removed by Albus Dumbledore from the family keep immediately after James and Lily died." Sirius said.

Snape was seated next to Remus and the werewolf saw the tight grip the man had on his chair and looking over asked "What is it?"

"Petunia Dursley destroyed them. I saw it in her memories. I don't know if they were the same ones but I saw that bastard of a husband of hers burning them." Snape said sounding like he was in pain.

"They still exist, Severus." Lucius replied. Seeing the trio looking at him, he pointed out. "If they are on the inventory as existing they must be someplace. If they were destroyed..."

"It wouldn't list them." The goblin announced in his harsh tone. "As the keepers of the Potter estate, young Potter's guardian's may call for anything that has been removed from the estate without permission. You must fill out the appropriate form in triplicate and we will retrieve the Potter heir's property."

"We will." Remus replied and then looking at Croaker said "You didn't bring us here simply to tell us about the horcrux. If this had just been about them, you would have kept it a secret."

"It's not. We have been watching and believe from the questioning he has been doing, Albus Dumbledore has known about the possibility of the existence of the horcrux and that he believes Harry to be one." Croaker announced.

There were denials at first then Snape turned to Lucius and said "When?"

"When did I figure it out?" Lucius rephrased the question. "When I heard about them from the Goblins after Ms. Granger's rather interesting transfiguration of Pettigrew. The Goblins sent me a report of all that was found at the house. Regarding Mr. Potter, I have been curious about the man's obsession with a young teenage boy. At first I believed it might have to do with his sexual preference for powerful wizards, after all even as a child the boy was a strong wizard."

"However, once I read Potter's medical history and how long Dumbledore has been interfering in his life as well as learning there was a prophecy, it wasn't hard to figure out that something was off." Lucius said. "Now that we know what it is, we need to deal with the man."

VESTA

Harry was returning to Malfoy manor at the end of the day spent at the park with Hermione then dinner and a game of mini golf with her parents. As he walked down the hallway towards his room, he saw a strange sight. Draco sitting on the bottom of the stairs, staring off into space with a bottle of fire whiskey in his hands while he kept murmuring something about not being able to see.

"Draco?" He stopped near the blond and called out his name. "What are you doing?"

The blond looked up at Harry and then at the raven haired wizard's watch and said "Where have you been?"

"At the Grangers, your parents and my godfathers knew about it." He replied as he noticed it was only nine thirty and he had promised to be back by ten. "Now answer my question."

"Nightmare." Draco replied shuddering.

"Want to talk?" Harry asked while inwardly reminding himself that it was Draco and why would he care about gave Malfoy nightmares? To his surprise, the blond shuddered again and this time drained the bottle he had in his hands.

"No, never. I never want to talk to anyone, ever again." He replied, his face now so red that Harry was worried he had a fever. "Oh god, please I so don't want to 'talk'."

"Okay." Harry said as he maneuvered around the blond with the intention of going up to bed. His foot was on the second stair when Draco suddenly began laughing hysterically and stood on shaky feet. "Malfoy, are you sure you don't want me to get your parents?"

"NO!" Draco shouted and reached out to prevent Potter from going up the stairs. "Trust me, you don't want to do that. I don't want to do that. I am never going to be able to look my mother in the eyes again and it is all HIS FAULT."

Harry looked at Draco whose voice had gone from fairly loud to almost hissing when he said it was someone's fault. Returning to the base step, he said "Draco have you been drinking?"

"Duh!" The blond snapped as he held up the almost empty bottle. "Though it was only halfway full to begin with."

"Why?" He asked confused. When he had left the manor that day, Draco had been planning on flying on the pitch and then asking his godfather about help with his transfiguration assignment.

The blond began laughing and said "_The TALK_."

"The talk?" Harry repeated. "What talk?"

"You know,_ the talk_." Draco said with a shuddering. "I was having such a good day. I had a great breakfast, it was a perfect day for flying, mother and I had lunch on the terrace while father was at some meeting and then it all went to hell. This time it wasn't even your fault."

"That's good to know." Harry said as he began to wonder just how drunk Draco was.

"No, it's his fault." Draco hissed. "He came home and he said we had to talk. My mother just left me with him and then my father insisted on going to the library. I should have known when we didn't go to the study, but no, not the study, it had to be the library. That is where it happened."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"_The talk_, though first he made me read this book which was horrifying enough to do with my father sitting there watching me, then we had to talk about it. He insisted on going into detail and showing me instructional pictures." Draco said his eyes staring off into space again. When he tried to take a drink and found the bottle empty, he placed it on the step and pulled Harry with him into the parlor where he poured Harry a glass and then drank straight from the bottle.

"Of what?" Harry asked.

"_The talk._" Draco replied as if that should be explanation enough. "He said that I was now fourteen and that it was time we had the talk."

"So whatever this talk was about, drove you to drinking?" Harry asked confused.

Draco drank some more and then said "No, I was embarrassed and wanted to avoid my father the rest of the day, but it didn't drive me to drinking. It was what happened later that did that." 

"What happened later." Harry asked as he sat across from Draco in the rather ornate parlor and stared at the other boy.

"None of your business." Draco harshly snapped. When Harry went to stand as if to leave, Draco threw the bottle of fire whiskey at the fireplace and then began stuttering. "It was bad enough that my father knew that stuff, it was worse when I realized that if he knew about it, he had to have done it, but then, then to..."

Draco gagged and Harry looked around for a container in case he threw up. Locating a brass bowl with nothing in it, he handed it to the blond who hugged it tightly to his chest and leaned forward as he said "What is worse is knowing that he did this with my mother. I saw them, I saw them and now I am never going to be able to look my mother in the face again."

"Saw them doing what, Draco?" Harry asked rather sure he didn't want the answer as his rather active imagination had the elder Malfoy's torturing house elves, muggles, murdering innocents. When Draco muttered a reply, Harry thought he had heard him wrong so he asked "Draco, what did you say?"

"M-my parent, they were...t-they were doing it." Draco said.

"What is it?" Harry asked totally confused by now.

"They were naked and father was..." At that point, Draco passed out and Harry was now officially worried. Heading towards the upper floor, trying to recall which bedroom he was looking for, he heard strange sounds and the slightly open door.

When he heard Lucius moaning, Harry stopped dead in his tracks as Draco's words came back to him. Now hearing Narcissa Malfoy joining her husband in the moaning, he backed away and returned as quietly as possible back down the stairs and detoured to the library.

Sure enough, sitting on the coffee table, he saw the same back that Oliver Wood had forced him to read that year after a fifth year Ravenclaw had tried to sneak into the Gryffindor locker room after a match, Harry began to put the picture together.

Returning to where Draco was regaining consciousness, Harry offered him his full shot glass which Draco finished off. The two wizards sat there, staring at the book Harry had brought into the room with him and placed on the sofa next to them.

Not a word was said as they opened another bottle of fire whiskey and this time using glasses actually drank the bottle, both now trying to forget what they had heard and seen.

Up Next:

Hangover city, population 2

Harry FINALLY teaches cooking lessons.

Molly, Mrs. Granger and Neville plan birthday parties

Dursleys get what is coming to them.


	10. A doll that blows up?

Chapter Nine 

Lucius was tying his robe belt and going to check on the boys. Narcissa had drifted off to sleep and while he was completely sated and more than a bit exhausted, he found himself worried about Draco. He had been very quiet after their talk earlier that afternoon. It had been a very different reaction from the one about body changes as you grow up.

Finding Draco's bed was unslept in, he went to check on Harry only to find he was also not in bed. He knew that the young boy had arrived home, the wards had let him know earlier that evening. Returning to the central staircase, he was almost to the ground floor when he saw the empty glass bottle on the stairs.

About to reprimand the house elves, Lucius took a closer look at the bottle and realized it was one of his bottles of 25 year old fire whiskey. Shaking his head, more amused than angry, he thought about where he would go if he was fourteen and sneaking something to drink.

A search of the entire second floor and then the bedroom floor, he found nothing so returning to the more formal rooms, he finally located his two scofflaws. Standing in the doorway, he chuckled as he saw Draco with his feet up on the sofa, holding tightly onto the book he had make him read earlier that evening.

Draco looked mussed, his hair tousled and his shirt was untucked while his shoes were now in the middle of the room with his socks folded and on top. Potter however looked as he normally did except that he held an empty shot glass in his hand as he was asleep at the other end of the sofa. Looking at bar, he found that three bottles of fire whiskey were now gone.

With a knowing smirk, Lucius covered them with conjured light blankets and left the two of them where they were before sending a note to Severus and the others to arrive at the manor early the next morning. Returning to bed, he found his wife had awoken and that she was tying her own robe.

Stepping up behind her, he reached around her waist to untie the robe while using his nose to brush her hair away from her neck so that he could press a kiss to her nape. "Where were you?"

"Checking on the boys." He said softly. "They are asleep downstairs. They had a bit of party, together. I think that you were right about my being a little too informative with Draco."

Narcissa let out a small laugh before Lucius guided her back to bed.

VESTA

Draco moaned and held his head as he woke up on the sofa. Looking around with his eyes without moving his head, he saw Potter asleep on the the other end of the sofa. "P-potter."

Harry felt sick and pressure in his head. Hearing his name being called, he lifted his head and moaning out loud at the pain asked "What?"

"Don't yell." Draco said and moaned louder as his own voice hurt his head.

"I'm not yelling." Harry said in the same normal voice not knowing others were nearby and silently laughing at them. "What time is it?"

"Speak softer." Draco whispered as he struggled to sit up. Looking at Potter he said "I think it's around dawn."

"Just how much did we drink?" Harry asked. Neither of the boys saw their audience as they dealt with their ill conceived actions. "I thought I only helped you with one bottle. I drank a little of Seamus Finnagan's rum and it didn't feel like this."

"It was dad's good fire whiskey." Draco moaned. About to ask Potter why they had been drinking he recalled what he had seen. "I know why I was drinking, but why did you join me?"

"I went to get you help last night." Harry replied.

"Oh." Draco replied and the four witnesses were looking at one another wondering why Draco had needed help. "What happened?"

"You didn't shut the door. I, at least didn't see anything, just heard."

"Oh. At least you didn't have to sit through my dad's talk before hearing that." Draco said with a shudder. "Wait, how did you know about the book? You never did tell me last night."

"That Ravenclaw chaser, Gia Pandrian. She snuck into our shower room and Wood caught her. He decided that since I didn't have anyone, he would have the same talk. Trust me, I would have rather had your dad do that then Oliver." He said shuddering in spite of wanting to throw up. "He seems to think because he was my captain since I was a firstie and he didn't want me learning from one of the Weasleys. It was a very thorough talk including a discussion about sexual preferences of boys versus girls versus liking both."

Snape who was in the doorway frowned and thought about what the rumors said about the Wood boy and knew that the three of them would have to decide to have a one on one talk with Harry.

"At least you didn't have to see your parents..." Draco couldn't even say it but Lucius flushed as he realized what had driven his son to drinking the night before. He saw the smirk on Black's face and had to restrain the urge to hex the younger wizard.

"True." Harry said as he slowly moved to a sitting position. "Do you think that there is any sober up potion?"

"I can't ask my dad for it because I am never going to look at him again." Draco said. "Maybe we can make some. You have access to the lab, right? I am not allowed down there without supervision after I tried to blow it up on purpose."

"I don't think I could manage to make it without throwing up." Harry said while silently wondering why Draco had tried to blow up his own potion's lab. "What about you?"

"I would throw up the minute I had to crush the mint leaves." Draco said. "What about asking one of your godfathers?"

"Maybe-no, no, not after they heard the story of the last few years." Harry said. "Wait, we could ask Hermione. She is pretty good at potions. She was supposed to come over today."

"What time?" Draco asked as he struggled to stand on his own after letting go of the back of the sofa and then reached over to help Harry to his feet. He heard a sound near the doorway but when he slowly turned he saw no one there.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Frowning, Draco said. "I thought I heard something. It might have just been one of the house elves."

The disillusioned quartet watched amused as the two boys leaning against each other walked towards the hallway and the stairs. When they were halfway up the stairs, Draco sat down and Harry who was helping him landed on his own rear. "I think that the stairs taller grew overnight."

Harry was staring at the marble floor entrance way thinking that they had missed something. Nothing came to him then it hit him. "Your empty bottle is gone."

"I'm sure one of the house elves picked it up." Draco said not at all worried. "My dad is going to kill me; though right now, I think being crucioed would feel better than I do."

"I'm not that bad." Harry admitted. "We should get upstairs before we get caught."

Their observers were amused to watch as the two slowly walked up the stairs and then debated what to do now. "Your room is closer. You don't snore do you?"

"No. You?" Harry asked Draco as they meandered down the upper balcony towards his room.

"No."

"Good, I have to deal with Ron and Seamus at school. Not even a silencing charm blocks out Ron's snores." Harry muttered as they eventually landed in his room. Falling onto the large bed, he looked over at Draco and with a laugh he said "If you smother me with a pillow, I will come back and haunt you to death."

"If you ever tell anyone that we slept in the same bed, I will tell anyone who asks that you hit on me." Draco said then shuddering added "Nevermind, just don't tell anyone."

With that, both boys fell back asleep as far apart as they could be on the king sized bed.

Remus was shaking hard as he tried to keep from laughing as he was reminded of Sirius and James fifteen years prior doing something very similar. Looking at Malfoy he saw the other man was also amused as he stared at the two boys who were both sleeping on opposite edges of the same king sized bed.

Snape who saw Black turn into his animagus form, stopped the dog from rushing into the room and jumping on the bed. "Heel, mutt."

Padfoot changed back into Sirius and looked at the man snapping at him. "What? Please, tell me you aren't going to be a stick in the mud about this?"

"Not hardly, considering I did the same thing in this very house myself at the same age." Snape said in a droll tone. Looking at Lucius, he said "Has old age made you forget simple locking and silencing charms?"

Lucius glared at his friend and then sheepishly admitted "We have never used them before. Draco sleeps like the living dead. A hoard of dragons could go flying through his room breathing fire and he wouldn't notice most of the time. Potter is a light sleeper but Narcissa noticed that he tends to stay in his room from when he goes to bed until he joins me for breakfast in the morning."

"Yes, it's only Hogwarts where he sneaks around with that damn invisibility cloak." Snape dryly pointed out. Shaking his head, he looked in at the two boys and then using a transfiguration spell, changed their clothes into pajamas and just because he could, he put Potter in green and silver and Draco into red and gold.

"Pranking helpless fourth years, shame on you, Snape." Remus said with a smirk on his face.

"Potter and helpless should not be in the same sentence." Severus said with a glare at the two boys. "Lucius, I gather that is the same book your father insisted on my reading?"

"Yes." Lucius answered then he asked "Are you going to talk with Harry?"

Snape looked at Remus who looked at Sirius and then shook his head no when the former prisoner seemed excited by being the one given the assignment. "What?"

"Padfoot, I mean it. You are NOT doing this one." Remus replied and looked at Snape to back him up. Seeing the Slytherin's confusion, Remus said "He decided seventh year to help Frank Longbottom. Sirius decided he needed reference materials that included a muggle blow up doll and bananas."

"Why would muggles create a doll that blows up?" Lucius asked looking confused as they walked back down the central staircase and returned to the library leaving the boys to sleep off their pain.

Sirius had a wicked grin on his face as he picked up a quill from the desk and created a blow up doll, just for Lucius. The blond looked at the disgusting thing with the obvious looking orifices and said "Not even muggles are that disgusting."

"Most aren't but I found a shop near the Leaky Cauldron when I was still at Hogwarts. I dragged Peter with me into the store." Sirius said quietly, unhappy to be reminded of the traitor. "I questioned poor Lily about it later and she was so embarrassed as she explained about the kind of person who would go into a shop like that. Anyhow, I caught old Sluggy exiting the shop a few weeks later."

Scoffing, Malfoy said "Not exactly a shock. That man didn't belong working in a school."

"So, who is going to talk to Harry?" Snape asked and there was silence before Remus looked at Sirius and said "If you scare that boy, I will turn you into Padfoot and have you neutered."

VESTA

Hermione and her parents finished their leisurely Sunday brunch as Mrs. Granger was excitedly discussing throwing the birthday party. "Hermione, will you please ask Harry's godfathers if they will come speak to me about the party?"

"Sure but you should know. Professor Snape is a bit sarcastic." Hermione weakly tried to warn her mother. Looking at her father who was reading the paper, she saw him lower the left side and wink at her. Giggling, she said "What?"

"I am just excited at the thought of finally meeting some of your other magical friends. Not that young Harry and Draco aren't interesting, but I was hoping you might have some friends that wear dresses."

"Well, I saw Professor Snape in a dress." Hermione said with a smirk on her face. Seeing her dad choke as he drank his coffee, she told them about the boggart and how Neville was afraid of the potions master.

"What does this have to do with your professor wearing woman's clothing?" Her mother asked.

"You have to laugh at a boggart so Neville changed it so that the menacing version of our professor ended up wearing his gram's dress and her vulture hat." Hermione said giggling as she recalled what had happened.

"A menace you have to laugh at?" Her father asked. "Doesn't sound too scary."

"But you have to face your fears, dad. That isn't always easy. Harry's worst nightmare are these creatures called dementors who make him relive his parent's death." Hermione said biting her lips.

"Dear, what is yours?" Her mom inquired wanting to distract her from whatever upset her daughter.

Pouting a bit, Hermione admitted "Professor McGonagall telling me I failed everything."

"How did you get past it?" Her dad asked curious.

With a sigh, Hermione said "In class, I changed Professor McGonagall into her cat animagus form chasing a ball of yarn, in my test at the end of the year for Professor Lupin, I failed and ended up running from the boggart."

"Oh dear." Her mom reached out to hug her and asked "Are you okay now?"

"Yes." She said then admitted "Harry beat me on that final. He just does this astonishing feats of magic, Mom. I beat him in achieving most stuff first, but he does it better once he figures it out. In Defense this year, it wasn't even close in the practical part. It's to be expected though, no one has said anything but it is clear that Harry is much stronger magically than I am."

Her father stiffened and said "Is this more of that muggleborn nonsense?"

Laughing, his daughter walked over and gave him a hug and said "No, I think my magical core is higher than most of the purebloods in Gryffindor and some of the other houses, it's just the Harry rule."

"Harry rule?" Her mom asked as she watched her daughter leaning against her father and drinking his orange juice.

"I wish I could show you." She said frustrated. "Harry has an innate sense of magic. He can just do things better once he figures it out. Defensive magic...wait, I know how to tell you. There is this charm that takes on dementors. Most grown wizards and witches can't do it. Last year, after the Minister of Magic assigned the dementors to guard Hogwarts, Harry had to learn it to protect himself."

"Why would he need to protect himself?"

"Remember what I said earlier, that when they are around he relives his mom's death?" Hermione said and when her father nodded, she continued "Professor Lupin taught Harry the charm and he can not only perform it but he does so at an incredible level in that it's corporal. It is so real you can reach out and pet it."

Hermione heard the sound of wings and looked up to see Hedwig flying into the house. "Hello Hedwig."

The white owl landed near Hermione and she reached over to read the attached note while giving the owl a piece of bacon. "It's from one of Harry's godfathers. Professor Lupin has asked if I would be willing to help plan Harry's birthday party. I guess I need to tell him what we want to do."

"Invite your professor here, then go change." Her mother said. Looking at her clock, she said "Young Mr. Longbottom will be here in an hour to work on helping me plant my herb garden."

VESTA

Narcissa crumpled up her latest attempt at writing a letter to her sister Andromeda. Lifting her quill yet again, she just put the tip to the parchment and wrote what was in her heart.

Without giving herself a second chance to read the letter, she sealed it and sent it off with her husband's raven. Once it had flown out the window, she went to join her husband and whatever guests they had for breakfast. Arriving in the dining room, she saw Lupin removing a letter from Harry's owl and Snape discussing something with her husband while her cousin was reading a book.

"I didn't know you could read, Sirius or are you just looking at the pictures." She said with a slight smile as she walked toward the wizard. He quickly closed the book, unintentionally getting her attention. Discreetly sliding her wand into her hand, she waited until she was seated at the other end of the table and then quickly fired an accio charm to have the book come to her.

Opening it, she gasped and then blushed as she slammed the book shut. "Why would you have this at the breakfast table, cousin? Has your time in Azkaban made you completely forget any manners you might have been taught?"

Sirius scowled and said "I have to talk to Harry when he wakes up."

Narcissa suddenly chuckled and with a raised eye brow looked at him. "If you need to revise using this book, maybe you should leave this to uh, maybe a more experienced wizard?"

When Sirius heard the other three men chuckling, it hit him what she was suggesting and without thinking he replied "I will have you know that I slept with lots of girls while at Hogwarts and then later on during my auror training."

"Oh dear." Narcissa said sounding concerned. "Lucius clearly you should step in here. I think that before anyone speaks to young Harry, someone needs to explain to Sirius that just because you sleep in the same bed as a girl, you aren't experienced."

After that statement, she looked at Sirius and shaking her head in disappointment said "I am so sorry, cousin. I had no idea that you were still a virgin. That is such a shame, but I guess you adopting Harry is a good thing, since it means we don't have to worry about you needing an heir."

"Wait. What?" Sirius asked now staring at Narcissa. "I'm not a virgin, cousin."

"This is no not an appropriate discussion for the breakfast table." Snape complained. "Black, I think maybe I should be the one talking to Harry."

"Oh yes, because that is going to go over well." Sirius snorted as he imagined that conversation. "The two of you aren't even on first name basis yet you are going to have that personal of a conversation with him. Besides, shouldn't Narcissa be more worried about you being a virgin than me?"

Remus sighed and shook his head as he saw the affronted expression on Snape's face. Before he could speak up and end this potentially dangerous topic, Narcissa spoke again. "Oh, don't worry about that. From what I heard from my fellow Slytherins, Severus hasn't been a virgin since fifth year when his voice changed."

Snape flushed when he saw Narcissa grin at him then continue to speak. "Turns out that voice of his got him into a lot of knickers his last three years at Hogwarts. Even Bella tried to seduce him in spite of her obsession with Riddle. Trust me, if I hadn't already had a thing for Lucius, I might have considered flirting with him, myself."

At that point, the only sound at the table was Snape's sputtering as he tried to reassure Lucius that he would have never hit on his wife. Remus who took the break in the snarky comments to read Hermione's letter, chuckled and said "I have been invited over to the Grangers after breakfast but there is a request for me to please, please, please not tell her parents about the stories Harry told us."

"Remind Hermione that we are going to practice our first meal today." Narcissa said as she called out for a house elf and asked that a pot of tea be brought to her ladies study.

With that, she left the table and Lucius lifted his wand and sent a mild stinging hex at Severus. When the dark haired wizard grunted and then glared at him, he smirked at him.

"What was that for?" Snape snapped. "It was Black reading that book."

"Hey, it was your idea." Sirius replied glaring at him. "Besides, you were apparently the Slytherin Casanova. Maybe Lucius doesn't like the idea that his wife considered flirting with you while at Hogwarts."

"Grow up, Black." Snape said standing and removing his coffee cup to take with him. Calling for his house elf, he said "When young Harry wakes up, give him oatmeal and toast, he won't be up for eating anything else today."

"Yes Master." With that the elf popped out of the room and the four wizards kept up a running commentary as they split up to deal with their various errands for the day.

Sirius checked on Harry and saw that both Draco and he were still fast asleep. Leaving a note on the dresser, he considered pouncing on the bed to wake up the duo but looking at the clock, left knowing he had to go speak to Arthur Weasley at the Burrow. He intended to speak to his godson when he returned later that afternoon about not only sex but drinking.

Severus saw Black leaving Harry a note before the mutt left. Heading up to the room he often used when staying at the manor, he checked on the two boys leaving them two vials of sober up potion and then went to shower in the room next door. He had spent most of the night gathering some ingredients that could only be picked at night and was feeling grubby. He planned to spend the day working on his personal relationship with his godson but it looked like both of his godsons were intending to sleep the day away.

Lucius meanwhile went outside to visit with his dogs that had just returned from their Irish estate where they had been spending their mating time at stud. Using his wand to toss various objects far into the gardens, he eventually moved towards the gazebo and the rose bushes that surrounded it.

Remus had gone to visit with Hermione as he was beginning to think he was the most mature of Harry's protectors. Arriving at the Granger residence, he was reintroduced to the young witch's mother and father before they sat down together. 

"Hermione, Sirius and I would like to plan a birthday party for Harry." He said "I was hoping you might have an idea of what he might want to do."

With a grin, she said "Well, I have a couple of ideas. First, why not let us host the actual party here. I mean, it's neutral territory. I know that Mrs. Weasley wants to have a party for Harry at her house but she won't let the Malfoys attend. The Malfoy's house would be perfect but they wouldn't want the Weasleys to attend. Black Manor is ready but not exactly where you want to hold a party for a teenager."

"Not a bad idea but are you sure you want to hold it here?" Remus asked.

"We have a large pool, dad can set up the volleyball nets, there is a conservatory for the older guests and there is a lot of privacy due to the fence." Hermione pointed out.

"There is something else." Mrs. Granger stated. "Young Neville's birthday is the day before. I was told by Augusta Longbottom that she intends to have a small party inviting only a few of her grandsons friends. So that would be a lot of partying in a short period of time."

"So no going overboard?" Remus said sounding sad.

"I do have an idea." Hermione said as she looked down at her shoes before looking at her professor. "Harry missed out on a lot of normal muggle birthday things that we normally have when we are younger. I made a list and was thinking that we could maybe do those with Harry before we have to return to Hogwarts."

"Why don't you hand me the list and I will take it to Sirius and Severus." Remus said liking that idea.

Hermione rushed up to her room and gathered the list. Handing to Remus, she bit her lip then asked "Sir, do you know what all of those things are?"

Chuckling, Remus said "When we first finished school, Lily gave us a crash course in muggle entertainment. It was the most fun I have ever had in my life. Well, except this ride that they called the Octopus. If I never see that metal contraption again, I will be quite happy."

"So how many do you think we should invite to Harry's birthday party?" Hermione was asked.

Let's see. The Weasleys, so that is Ron, Ginny, the twins, I guess Percy and if the older brothers are here, two more plus Arthur and Molly." She said counting on her fingers. "Neville and his grandmother. The quidditch team so that is Angelina, Katie and Alicia. Maybe Oliver if he is free. Uh, if we keep it just Gryffindor, then maybe the others in our year. So that would be Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Parvati but we would have to invite her twin, Padma. Other than that, I have no idea but maybe Colin Creevey and...

Remus looked at the girl who had stopped talking and asked "What is it?"

"It's just Draco won't get along with most of them, so we should find the least offensive Slytherins to invite but they might not want to come to a muggle household." she said biting her lip yet again.

"Okay, how about we send out invites to just the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, the other fourth year Gryffindors. I was thinking maybe when we planned the trip to the amusement park we could invited more. Maybe make it a lesson in muggle wonders for the purebloods." Remus suggested with a grin.

"We still have the problem of the Weasleys versus the Malfoys." Hermione said wearing a frown.

"Hermione, why don't you head up to the attic and see if you can find that book about hosting birthday parties for your professor." Mr Granger said.

Once his daughter had left, he looked at the wizard and said "Between the two young men. Having met both of them, I prefer Mr. Malfoy to Mr. Weasley. Draco made great strides while staying with us and young Ronald has proven to be someone we aren't so sure we want around our daughter. His attitude upon meeting us did not endear that young man to us last year. Our daughter's early letters from Hogwarts make it very clear that that young man was not much of a friend to her."

Remus nodded and then admitted "Harry befriended Ron on the train that first year. The problem is that he isn't aware of the history between Ron's mother and the Potter family as a well as his mother. The Headmaster forbade me from telling Harry last year but Sirius already decided that Harry should be told, that he would prefer that Harry knew the truth and then make up his mind."

"What happened?" Hermione said from the entrance way. Seeing them looking at her, she said "I think I know but wanted to be sure. Scarlet woman, it was Mrs. Weasley, wasn't it?"

"How?" Remus looked at Hermione with wide eyes as he realized she knew some of the story even as he took the offered book.

"Mrs. Malfoy told me a bit of it, but didn't tell me who." Hermione said. "Harry and I discussed what I was told but I was stumped at the who until I was thinking about the trip to Flourish and Blotts second year. I remembered her describing some of the witches throwing themselves at that fraud Lockhart as hussies as well as scarlet women."

"I wasn't there, Sirius was but that does sound like something she would say." Remus replied with a heavy sigh. "Sirius went to speak to the woman, she sent us an invitation to a birthday party for Harry to be held on his birthday. He wasn't happy when we got it."

VESTA

Sirius was greeted by Arthur Weasley when he arrived at the Burrow. After listening to the man discuss plans for HIS GODSON to stay there for the month of August, Sirius said "Arthur, Albus has no say in where Harry spends his time. He never should have had any authority. I know that your sons rescued Harry after his first year and that you care for him, but Harry is MY responsibility."

"Albus and Molly have already made plans for us to go get him on August 1st, Sirius." He said stubbornly as they walked up to the leaning and crooked home.

"Arthur, you have always been a good man but if you and that idiot try to remove my godson from me, I won't be a happy man." Sirius said wearing a frown. "I am already upset that your wife didn't seem to consider asking my opinion before sending out invitations to Harry's birthday party. I sincerely hope she didn't invite too many people because while I am grateful that your family cares for my godson, we have already made plans for his birthday that Harry is agreeable to."

Molly who had come out to greet the now free wizard frowned and said "Albus has already..."

"Molly, Albus Dumbledore is NOT Harry's guardian. I am. Harry's birthday plans will be what he wants and what we have already started to plan. You will be invited but you won't be hosting." Sirius said. "Now I know about the issue regarding the tickets for the Quidditch Cup. I have purchased several tickets and while Harry has already agreed to go with Hermione as her Vesta Apprentice escort, I am sure that he would like to see his friends. I picked up tickets for the twins, Ginny and Ronald."

Arthur wanted to refuse the tickets, but Sirius handed them to him and said "It's part of Harry's birthday present. We have arranged for a stay at a nearby magical hotel for our entourage. There are three rooms available for your family and they have already been paid for. One thing, Hermione is required to attend as the apprentice, I know about the feud between your family and the Malfoys and why it flared up again."

Molly and Arthur both scowled and Sirius returned their glare and said "I am only going to say this one. DO NOT EMBARRASS Ms Granger. Yes, dislike the Malfoys all you want, but in public please remember to be at least polite, Molly."

"How dare you..." The red head matron began to sputter and Sirius let her for a few seconds then said "I am well aware that Lucius set up a fund for your daughter to get treated by a mind healer. I also know that he was questioned under veritiaserum regarding that journal. I know that you were given a copy of the questions and his answers. While I don't condone what he did, I do know that like your daughter he was under the influence of that book."

When Molly said that it was no excuse, Sirius looked at the woman and said "We all have things in our past that we want to forget, even you Molly Prewett. Arthur, please accept the hotel rooms and tickets. Harry wants to see his friends at the Cup."

With that, Sirius left the grounds and apparated to the grounds of the estate he had purchased recently. It needed a lot of work and the wards had to be strengthened but it was his, not a family home. Once he had calmed down, he went to his study and sat down and looked at the muggle wedding photo book he had brought home with the intention of giving it to Harry. Now he was going to have to talk to him about the Weasleys and this might help.

VESTA 

In London, as the constables placed the handcuffs on a soot covered Vernon Dursley, the oversized man was sputtering and blaming his problems on everyone but himself. "I tell you it's them freaks. They did this. I swear, I am not a terrorist."

"What freaks?" One of the officers asked even as his partner told him not to encourage the nut job as Vernon went on and on about witches and wizards and his son having a pig's tail.

"My nephew, I tried to beat it out of it, I tried to make him be normal like we are, but it just wouldn't work. Even after we locked him in that cupboard, he kept doing those freaky things. I tried to starve it out of it, it didn't work." Vernon blubbered.

"Really, so let me get this straight. Your nephew..."

"No, not my nephew. My wife's nephew, my family is normal, we don't have freaks like that in my family." Vernon sneered.

"Okay, you locked your nephew in this cupboard and didn't feed him, beat this freak and he still did freaky things." The constable asked while his partner looked up at the camera on the suspect and shook his head at the man's stupidity.

"We didn't want him, we were perfectly happy living our lives as perfectly normal people. Then we got stuck with him when his parents died."

"How old was he?" The officer asked.

"Don't know, younger than my Dudley so maybe fifteen months old." Vernon said. "Anyhow, it was easy he was little. We locked him in, made him work until he was tired and then didn't feed him. I even knocked him around a bit, but then those damn owls arrived and he was taken off by that large freak on behalf of that other freak. He gave my son a tail."

"Really, so what happened next?" The constable asked.

"He went away to that freak school that his mother went to. He came home and I rightfully locked up his freaky trunk with all of his little freaky books. Then he ruined my dinner party, dropped a cake on my guests. It cost me the drill sale I was trying to get." Vernon complained. "I got back at him, I surely did. We put locks on his door and a cat flap. Sent food through it once a day and let him out only to do his chores and to use the bathroom once a day."

Vernon took a sip of the water the constable placed in front of him and kept speaking. "I didn't want him going back to that freak school but these red heads in a flying car came and they removed the bars on the window of the freak's room and he flew away in this car."

"What kind of car?" The constable asked.

"Old Ford, sedan." Dudley replied as he went on to tell them about Harry blowing up his sister for no reason and how they hadn't wanted him back because his godfather was a serial killer. "But no, that head freak, that Dumplebore made us take him back. Not a week later, these other freaks including one that grow up near my wife came to my house and stole the boy away."

"Really?" The constable asked amused at the tall tale. "How did they do that?"

"They broke into my house and they used mind games to find out all my secrets." Vernon said sputtering. "Then once they took the freak away, all these horrible things began to happen."

"What sort of horrible things?"

"Bugs invaded. We dealt with the bugs, then we ended up with terrible diarrhea, I believe that that freak cursed us. The diarrhea ended and I was sure things were looking up but my car wouldn't start. I had it towed to the dealer and the car blew up at the dealers and they are now suing me." Vernon bellowed. "Then my son was accused by the kids in the neighborhood of being a bully and of stealing candy from the store."

"And this is all the fault of this other boy, the one you call a freak?"

"Yes, yes it is all his fault. I am sure that he forced my son to do those things." Vernon explained. "We had to flee our home but before we could I was fired from my job just because of a little slap and tickle with my secretary. Can you believe the little tease got me fired for that?"

"So you fled the country at this point?"

"No, no, we went to visit Marge but the dogs, well honestly they get on my nerves, it was why I was more than willing to wring the neck of the runts. Buried them for her the day before we went up to Blackpool. But the curse followed us and we were kicked out of our hotel and one of the rides broke while Dudley was on it. I am going to sue those fools, they almost cost me my child."

Vernon was thrilled that someone was finally listening to him as he told the officer his tale of whoa. "We were asked to leave and I kept some money hidden in a bank account, it's what the state gave us for the freak. We put it in a secret safety deposit box. We used that to go to Cornwall but the holiday caravan we rented was stolen by some thugs and sent over a cliff. So Pet wanted to leave the country, we were sure that the curse wouldn't follow us there."

"Did it?"

"Yes, it was horrible. We were once again kicked out of our hotel. The concierge had the nerve to tell me that I was rude and that we had to leave just because I pinched the bum of that little tart working in the coffee shop. You know how it is with those kinds of girls, they tease a man and then get angry when you show them a little attention." Vernon stated. "So we return to England and get arrested as terrorists."

"What about the money in the investment accounts? How do you explain how you have several hundred thousands pounds that can't be accounted for on your taxes? Where did it come from?"

"Those freaks gave it to me." Vernon replied. "For the boy, you know."

"So you were getting money for this uh, freaky nephew of yours from somewhere and were still applying for government funds for him?" The officer asked while wondering just how stupid this man would be and what else he would confess under the guise of blaming the so called freaks.

"Yes, but well we deserved it, having to deal with his kind. He was taking food our of our only child's mouth." Vernon replied.

The officer looked at his partner and then at the two uniformed officers nearby. "Take Dursley back to his cell and bring in his wife."

A few minutes later, Petunia Dursley was giving the investigating officer a glare that would freeze boiling water. "How dare you accuse me of being a...a a freak?"

"Mrs. Dursley, what about that investment account we found that was emptied?" 

"I inherited a nice little sum from my parents." She said denying the theft of government funds. By the time she was finished, all except the officer who was investigating believed that Vernon Dursley was insane and that his wife was a cold blooded criminal.

Once they were ordered to take the woman back to her cell, the investigating officer asked "What happened to their son?"

"Ticketed and told to appear in front of a juvenile court judge at the end of the month. He went to St. Brutus, but like his mother, he claimed no one lived with his family. Denied the existence of this cousin in spite of our pointing out the other boy attended primary school with him."

"Let the Crown's prosecutor know the latest. What I really want to know is what Vernon Dursley did with all that money. I am worried about MI5's mention of missing weapons grade bomb making materials." With that, Arlo Thomas, squib and detective with Scotland Yard went to speak to a counterpart in the magical government.

Later that day, Vernon Dursley was quietly transferred to a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Arlo's report was making it's way to all the appropriate people including one Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE who read his written confession and smirked thinking gotcha in regards to the long haired bearded nutjob passing himself off as the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

VESTA

Harry awoke and found that while his mouth felt dry and like it had been stuffed with cotton, he didn't want to throw up any longer. Sitting up, he looked around the room and saw that Draco was still fast asleep with his head buried under a pillow and that the other boy was wearing pajamas in Gryffindor colors.

Smirking at that, almost certain it had been Sirius who had done so, Harry stretched yawning and thinking he needed to get ready so that he could help Hermione and Mrs. Malfoy.

Groaning at the thought of facing the woman after what he had heard the night before, he heard a chuckle and turned to see his godfather Snape sitting in a nearby chair reading a book. "Sir?"

"Do you need a potion?" The man asked holding up the vial he had left earlier.

"No." Harry answered as he slid off the bed and yawned again. "Why are you here? Did I forget we were studying today?"

"No, I stayed in case you woke up needing either a sober up potion or a pain potion." Snape answered.

Harry flushed and then suddenly found his feet very interesting as he waited to be lectured. When it didn't happen, he looked up and said "Aren't I in trouble?"

"Be rather hypocritical of me to punish you for something I did myself at your age." Severus mildly replied. "At least Draco and you didn't decide to smoke a muggle sort of cigarette like Lucius and I did that evening. We were rather silly acting after that and insisted that the house elves supply us with junk food. When they refused, well, we apparated and stole junk food from a nearby market. By the time Abraxas Malfoy finished with the two of us, we couldn't sit down for a week which was a good thing because we spent most of that weekend staring at opposite corners in the study."

Harry who thanks to Dudley's rather bad behavior understood EXACTLY what kind of muggle cigarette they had smoked, stared at Snape as if he had grown an extra head. "Really?"

"Yes, however don't make a habit of it." Snape said before suggesting he go take a shower. "You will feel better and that dry taste in your mouth will go away after you brush your teeth."

Harry exited the bathroom twenty minutes later, complaining about the mirror that had just told him he needed a hair cut and recommended he get a face alteration charm.

Seeing that Draco was now gone, he hurried down to the kitchen just in time to see Lucius Malfoy carrying in flowers just in front of him. Before he could enter the room, a strong hand reached out to grab him and pull him into a nearby empty storage room...

VESTA

Narcissa and Hermione were in the kitchen at the manor. Narcissa had ordered the house elves from the room when it had become clear that they felt the witches were invading their territory.

"So what should we do first? Narcissa was asking the teenager who seemed as confused as she was. Looking up at the sound of boot footsteps, she saw her husband and watched amused as he accioed a vase and placed the flowers inside it leaving two of the roses on the side.

He used a denuding spell to remove their thorns and handed the red rose to his wife and then bowing gave Hermione the golden colors rose. Without another word, he left the room only to returned and guide his wife to the hallway.

Narcissa was amused as he assured her that everything would be fine with her cooking lesson then said in a tone that offended her. "After all my dear you are quite a capable witch and I am sure you will be able to manage after all it is only a simple cooking spell."

Shaking her head as she returned to Hermione, trying to work out why his words annoyed her, she saw Hermione seemed confused as to why they had been given flowers.

Hermione looked at the man's wife who said in an amused tone "It's an apology to me for the rather inappropriate behavior of him and our guests at the table this morning.

"Why did he give me a rose?" Hermione asked looking at the lovely gold rose.

"It would be rude not to." Narcissa said before going to get two bud vases. Once their flowers were in one, she said "Where do you think Harry is?"

"I'm here." The dark haired teenager said as he rushed into the kitchen thinking on what Remus had just mentioned to him. Looking around at the mounds of supplies to make the french toast, he asked "How much french toast do you expect to make? There is enough supplies here to make it for the entire Ministry staff and Hogwarts at the same time."

"Oh dear." Narcissa said looking around in surprise. "I wasn't sure so I told the house elves to double the ingredients for the recipe that Misty the house elf that cooks borrowed from another elf."

Harry shook his head and looked around to find several aprons nearby. Asking Hermione to enlarge them, he soon had all three of them wearing them, Narcissa Malfoy looked pained as she stared in horror at the cloth around her waist. "So where would we find the mixing bowls and a griddle?"

"What's a griddle?" Narcissa asked. Harry began opening cupboards to locate the necessary items and once he had them set up for each of his students and himself, he suggested that they each crack a half dozen eggs into the bowls.

Working on his own, he heard the other two doing the same and was thinking well this was easy enough, until he turned around. Hermione had as much egg on her hands as in the bowl and was wearing a frown as she tried to wipe her hands on her apron.

Narcissa was smiling, clearly happy that her own hands were much cleaner. Harry was about to compliment her on a job well down when he looked into the bowl and inwardly groaned when he saw that she had cracked the eggs and then dropped the entire mess, shells included into the mess.

He was holding the bowl trying to find a polite way to explain what she did wrong when he heard a barking sound and two dogs the size of small horses came charging into the room after his godfather in animagus form.

Sirius came straight at him and before Harry could prevent the disaster the bowl in his hands flew straight into the air while he landed on his butt. He could only watch as the bowl flew up towards the ceiling. He heard Hermione starting to call out wingardium leviosa at the same time as Mrs. Malfoy.

Unable to take his eyes off the bowl, he saw it heading his way in spite of the two witches attempts, so he rolled away still wrapped up with his godfather and heard a third voice suddenly from the entrance. 

His eyes followed the path of the bowl with the eggs and shells as it flew towards Severus Snape who had spoken and Remus who was a step behind and looking amused. The sound of Snape's voice had the two dogs who who had ran to Narcissa when they had seen her, turn, running straight for the wizard, including running over Harry and Padfoot who began to bark at them.

There was a softly muttered oath from yet another voice as the two dogs distracted Snape from the incoming bowl heading his way. Harry closed his eyes as if by not seeing he could pretend that what was about to happen wouldn't as Lucius Malfoy ended up with a face full of eggs and shells.

There was silence.

Harry looked up to see the two strange dogs were now stupified as they seemed to be half jumping towards Snape, his dogfather was now laying across his legs and standing nearby Narcissa and Hermione were hiding their attempts at not laughing. Lucius Malfoy however was standing in the entrance of his kitchen with eggs dripping off his face, hair and clothes as he looked from one witch and wizard to another.

"Father?" Draco entered the kitchen from the outside entrance. He tried to hide his need to laugh and had completely forgotten his plans to never talk to his parents again when he saw his father's predicament. "What are you doing?" 

"We were making french toast." Hermione said as if nothing was wrong with what they were all seeing.

"Granger, I saw your mother making that three days ago, I don't recall her sending a bowl full of eggs into your father's face." He replied. "Harry, I thought you were in charge of this?"

Harry rolled his eyes and looked over at the blond who was clearly heading to the quidditch pitch. "I had nothing to do with this." 

"Then how did this happen?" Draco asked as he tried to control his need to laugh.

"Well those two dogs..." Harry was beginning to tell the blond what had happened when he heard the icy sound of Lucius Malfoy's voice.

"I hate to interrupt what I am sure is a very entertaining story but would someone please get whatever this sticky goo is off of me?" 

Narcissa who had reclaimed her equilibrium looked over at her husband and recalling how his early comment had annoyed her, said in as condescending tone as she could "Dear, you are a wizard and are quite a capable one at that, I am rather sure that you are able to remove that mess yourself." 

Harry was staring in surprise at the witch when his godfather changed back into his human form and tried to stand while Draco listened to Hermione's tale of how all of this had happened.

Lucius had just used his wand to remove the mess when he heard his wife make a suggestion that had Harry wishing he was anywhere else but where he was. "Dear, I think we should all take young Harry's cooking lesson. After all we have plenty of supplies unless you don't think you are capable enough of a wizard to learn how to do so." 

Snape's eyes widened as he heard the tone that he knew meant Narcissa Malfoy was upset with her husband and was trying to come up with an excuse to escape when he saw her blue eyes on him. Swallowing his reply, he found himself answering as if he had been imperioed. "I believe that is a brilliant idea."

Harry meanwhile was shuddering as he heard Sirius eagerly agreeing as well. Standing, pretending like he hadn't a care in the world, he looked over at Hermione and asked "Would you please fix five more aprons while I locate more bowls." 

With that, Harry went outside to the back garden and placing a charm on himself to muffle the sound, screamed every single swear word he knew and thanks to the Weasley twins that was a lot.

Returning to the kitchen a few minutes later, he saw the knowing smirk on Draco's face and was debating slugging the blond as he said in a monotone for the others to have a seat and moved to stand on the other side of the counter. "Okay, lets start with the correct way to crack an egg...

TBC

Up next

The rest of the cooking lesson

Sirius talks to Harry about Lily and James

The full moon and not so Moony.


	11. Not so Moony

A/N: some described a bit of the last chapter as filler, as fans of my GH stories know, often what you think you can skip believing that, turns out to be important at a later date. For example, that scene where Severus tells Harry about the incident with Lucius and his smoking will be back at a later date. There is also a reason that Severus hasn't met the Grangers yet. To me what is filler is setting up later chapters. I like layered stories, where you don't piece everything together until the end.

Chapter Ten

Lucius looked around his kitchen, still not understanding why his wife seemed angry with him. He knew it wasn't about the incident at breakfast, he was sure she wasn't unhappy about their time together the previous night. Frowning, he thought back and went through the last few days and was sure that he had done nothing to upset her.

He had been on his best behavior at all times, though that was getting easier by the day. Hermione Granger was a perfect example. She was a mud-er muggleborn yes, that much was true, but as his wife taught her the pureblood customs, he saw that she was refining their beliefs to fit her own habits.

In fact his only complaint about the young woman was her very uncomfortable reaction to the house elves. He had made a point the day before of lending her one of the volumes he had on the history of the creatures on the hope that she would soon realize that it wasn't slavery. It had however reinvigorated his thoughts about removing muggleborn students to the magical world as soon as they had their first bout of magic though.

Potter was proving very interesting and he was beginning to see that the reason the boy relied so much on Dumbledore's word was because that was what the old man had planned from the beginning. As the boy learned more and more about their world, he was becoming much more acceptable to Lucius.

If only he would end that friendship with the Weasley family but he knew that given time, Harry's close friendship with the youngest boy would end up frayed. After all the boy was the one most like his mother and Lucius just marked time, knowing that the boy Weasley would ruin everything on his own without any help from him.

The werewolf was keeping Black on a leash to a certain extent and if Severus was correct about what the goblins had done, he would soon cease to be an issue all together. As for Black; well, he knew that there would be a reckoning between the spoiled brat and himself at some point. He was just hoping it would wait until the children were back at school.

Hearing his name being called, he glared at Severus and said "What?

"I think that the bread can come out of the dip now." He said dryly pointing to where his latest attempt was soaking in his bowl next to all his mista-er, experiments. Looking around the kitchen, he saw that his son and wife had their attempts now on the flat dark surface and seemed to be cooking their toast.

Following Potter's directions, Lucius moved his own slice of bread onto the nearby griddle and carefully followed his directions, hoping that eventually he would figure out what had upset his wife. With a sigh, he looked down at the grill and shook his head at the fact he was taking part in this cooking lesson at all, the things he did to please his wife.

Severus was debating smacking Harry on the rear with his wand when the pre-teen grinned at him as he gave them directions on cutting up the strawberries and other fruit. He had at first wondered if it was a coincidence how much the boy had sounded like him while he was teaching his students.

He heard Harry directing Draco to cut the banana slices a bit thinner. The boy was moving between the various cooks and he couldn't help his chuckle when Harry admonished Sirius who was playing around with his wand and dripping water into the grill.

Black had grinned and then overplayed the victim act as he stepped back and promised to behave.

When Harry was standing between Lupin and himself, Severus watched as the boy used the spatula he was carrying to expertly flip the werewolves french toast slices and showed the older man how to crisp up the edges. Unable to help himself, Severus lifted his hand and messed up Potter's hair more than it usually was when he saw the boy was heading to check on Lucius who looked like he was being tortured, though to Lucius being forced to learn to cook was probably less painful than being crucioed.

Looking at Lupin, he saw the sadness in the other man's eyes and quietly muttered "What?"

"I was enjoying this, enjoying watching how comfortable and talented Harry was at teaching and cooking until I realized WHY he had to be so comfortable with cooking. Those damn Dursleys." Severus looked down at the cut up fruit in front of himself, his own enjoyment ebbing away as he found himself thinking about that statement.

"I know." Severus said as he looked over at Harry who was now speaking to Granger who seemed to be having issues with the grilling of her french toast. Severus watched Harry correct his closest friend but doing so in a manner that had Granger smiling at the boy and couldn't help thinking that Harry would be a good teacher someday.

Narcissa was thrilled, no, not thrilled but relieved when she was told that she had successfully cooked her first meal. Sitting at the small table outside, she looked around to see that the plates the others had brought out all for the most part resembled Harry's. She wanted to laugh when she saw the smug grin on Draco's face as he showed off his own attempts.

In the center of the table were two platters with stacks of french toast, with bowls of freshly cut fruit, some cream cheese and lots of maple syrup. Amused to realize that her son had already prepared his serving, she looked to see Hermione was delicately spreading cream cheese evenly over hers and then reaching for some blueberries.

When Harry had thanked the house elves, he exited the house and joined the rest of the cooks at the table. He went for the basic dish of toast and bananas along with syrup.

As he cut up his meal, he looked around pleased to notice that everyone even Sirius had managed an edible meal. Surprised to see Snape was only putting syrup on his, he looked up to see that his godfather/potion's professor was staring at him. "What?"

He heard Remus chuckling and turned to the werewolf, "What is going on? Did I miss something on my face?"

"Nope." Remus replied and then bit into his own serving of french toast. When he saw the confused expression on Harry's face, he said "It's nothing bad, Harry. I am just rather proud of how easily you slipped into the role of teacher and how you managed to keep all of us from ruining the toast."

"It's french toast, it's hard to ruin." He replied not understanding why Hermione was grinning at him as well. "Have you gone loony, Mione?

Remus let his smile slip from his face as he recalled something he had intended to speak to his fellow professors about but had forgotten at the end of the year. "Harry, do me a favor, please don't call anyone that. I spent a good portion of this year trying to get the second year students to stop bullying one of the Ravenclaw girls with that terrible nickname?"

"The Lovegood girl?" Severus inquired. Seeing Lupin nod, he said "It's being led by the current crop of fourth year girls. I caught Edgecombe with Lovegood's quills. Gave her detention and spoke to Filius who punished them but it made the situation worse not better. Cho is going to be made prefect this year in hope that it may help but I think he doesn't realize that she is part of the mess."

"Why are they bullying her?" Lucius asked. He knew the Lovegood family. The father was rather odd but he seemed to recall that the man's late wife was from a well known and influential pureblood family. It had been an arranged marriage but Selene had stuck it out.

"She is a rather unique young lady." Remus said diplomatically. "She believes everything her fathers tells her, including about the rather elusive animals he chases after. She dressed unlike anyone else."

Scoffing, Snape sneered "Well of course she does. The other girls in Ravenclaw hide her belongings or outright steal them."

"Why hasn't anyone done anything about it?" Hermione asked sounding appalled at learning about this girl's torment and that she hadn't noticed it was going on.

"The Headmaster has prevented anything more than detention and points." Remus replied as he shook his head. "I had no idea about the thefts."

"Filius reported in a meeting of the Heads of the Houses that that is the least of the issues. Unfortunately without the backing of the Headmaster there is little we can do. I put a charm on her so that at least they can't mess with her books and homework but the charm only works for that." Severus said.

Hermione and Harry were eyeing each other, speaking without words. Harry who had thought that Cho Chang was pretty and had distantly believed her to be kind had been surprised to learn the truth while Hermione who had dealt with similar problems before Hogwarts was trying to find a way to introduce herself to this unknown girl.

Hermione looked up to see Draco watching them, then a odd agreement in his eyes that told her that maybe they could leave punishment of the Ravenclaw girls to him. When he nodded, she saw Harry's small hidden smirk and shuddered. The idea of the two of them colluding together against another was a scary thought.

* * *

A week after the first cooking lesson, the group was back in the kitchen and this time Harry was convinced that last week had been a fluke as once again he watched Remus put out a fire started by Sirius.

Looking warily at his first godfather, Harry moved closer to oversee his attempts at a grilled cheese sandwich. Around the room, there were a few pots of various soups on a gentle simmer to go with the sandwiches which they had prepared first.

Hearing his name being called, he cautiously looked at Hermione who was scowling as she held up her burnt-to-a-crisp sandwich. Sighing, he saw out of the corner of his eye his godfather once again dripping water onto the griddle. Reaching out, he caught his hand and shook his head before turning to Draco who had been paired with Sirius and said "Please help Sirius do a sandwich while I go help Hermione. Sirius, one more drop of water and I am banning you from this kitchen."

Ignoring the wizard's protests as much as the laughter from the other adults, he went to help Hermione. The problem was that she was following his directions word for word and was still ending up with the same result.

Thankfully, a very quiet Lucius and Remus who were working together had been successful on every attempt. They were now serving themselves bowls of the homemade minestrone soup which they had been making. Looking at Severus, Harry saw that the potion master had mastered the thick firecracker roasted pumpkin and coconut soup, which was the hardest of the recipes he had found. His grilled cheese sandwiches were just as perfect, to his annoyance they looked better than Harry's.

Hermione and Narcissa had made the homemade noodle soup which was a recipe he had found in one of the more posh cookbooks that they had picked up in Diagon Alley.

He supervised Hermione as she once again attempted to make her grilled cheese sandwich and all was going well until he turned to check on the now quiet Sirius and Draco. He could suddenly smell the acidic scent of burnt bread and cheese. Hermione looked ready to burst into tears.

Hugging her, he said "We will figure it out."

Narcissa who had gone for a basic grilled cheese of wheat bread and swiss cheese was looking relieved when she removed her own sandwich. Harry suggested that Hermione use the other witch's griddle and when her sandwich turned out fine, blithely blamed it on the original griddle to make his friend feel better about the situation.

Eventually they were once again seated at the same table as a week ago, Sirius eating the extra sandwiches that Harry had made to go with Draco and his garden pea soup. The former marauder announced that he was giving up cooking.

"Thank goodness for house elves or you would starve." Draco said with a smirk on his face. "Potter I think he needs detention for slacking off."

"Oh, I have a worse punishment in mind." The emerald eyed teenager said. Looking at his godfather, he announced "While Remus is unavailable for the next few days, someone has to supervise me. Snape has already offered so that means Sirius gets to help Mrs. Granger pick up the supplies for my birthday party. After all she is generously offering to host it."

Sirius glared at his godson. "I hate shopping."

"Snape, what would be the punishment for one of your students if they behaved the way that Padfoot did in class today?" Harry asked while grinning at Hermione who was now giggling.

"Nevermind, I will go visit Mrs. Granger." Sirius hastily replied having heard tales from the three teenagers about Snape's classes. "You're a cruel and hard task master, Harry. You remind me greatly of your mother."

Remus burst out laughing to the amusement of the younger kids. Seeing them looking he said "Let's just say your mother was very initiative with punishments, Harry. When Sirius got you your toy broom in spite of Lily's firm directive regarding presents for your first Christmas, she ordered him to wash dishes by hand for a month. No magic allowed."

Seeing the accepting expression on their faces, Remus told them the rest of the story. "Did I happen to mention that she meant the dishes at the Potter house and that Sirius didn't even live there. The funny thing was he was already so scare of her and her wand that he turned up every single night and did them without complaint."

Draco looked at Sirius Black and said "I thought that you were training to be an auror."

Sirius looked at the teenage blond and said "Have you ever heard of Mad Eye Moody?"

"Auror, scary wizard. Complete nutter." Draco replied while both Hermione and Harry listened without knowing who he was. "Why?"

"Moody pissed Lily off only once. You know why it was only once?" Remus asked with an amused tone. "Let me tell you the story. See, Moody thought it would be educational to remind everyone about his watch words Constant Vigilance by hiding in the pushes as the Potter Manor. James and Lily were returning from a dinner at the Tonks household and it was almost midnight. He jumped out and tried to hex them in the back while shouting constant vigilance. James burst out laughing when he noticed who it was, Lily however, she was a different story."

"Lily never really approved of his surprise attacks and before he even finished speaking, she had his wand in her hand and had silenced him, tied him up and removed his magical eye then turned him into a wild boar which we quickly learned was a type of pig. She corralled him and then started a pot of water on this huge outdoor fireplace all the while telling Mad Eye about how she was going to turn him into a pot of stew. I should explain that she kept the ruse going all the way up to the point where she held her wand on him and pretended to prepare him to be skewered."

"He squealed and kept trying to escape her as she threw cutting hexes that just missed him. Finally, just when Mad Eye was sure that he was about to be the pork filler in the stew, she transfigured him back into human form and told him if he EVER snuck up on her again, she would not be so kind. His hands were trembling as he caught his wand and he apparated away."

Lucius didn't believe them at first, convinced that Lupin and Black were exaggerating for the entertainment value to Harry when he noticed the rueful look on Severus' face.

"Minerva told me about it a few years ago when Mad Eye came to Hogwarts to visit the Headmaster. She made a point of bringing Lily up to the nutter when he started to harass me during lunch in the Great Hall. Moody fled so quickly you would think that Lily was in the same room." Severus said.

"Mom did that?" Harry asked laughing. "I thought that dad was the prankster?"

"Harry, you don't understand." Sirius said with a grin on his face. "Your mother wasn't joking. If Moody had persisted in his sneak attacks, she would have turned him into stew with no qualms. She was every scarier once she was pregnant with you. Peter tracked mud into the house and when she pointed it out, he said something about it being the house elves job to clean it up. She charmed the mop and water bucket in the kitchen to follow him around and hit him on the butt until he finally got the hint to clean it up."

"Since it was Peter it took a while for him to get the hint." Remus finished. The group went quiet as they finished their lunch then Narcissa requested the house elves clean up the kitchen as Hermione and she had a meeting with the rest of the Vestas and were meeting with Boudacia beforehand.

Draco who had spent very little time with his parents since the talk a week before with his dad quickly exited towards his bedroom while Snape and Lucius went to the library along with the two remaining marauders. Harry who was planning on joining Draco outside flying first went to send a reply to Ron who had written him a note in which he complained about how mean his dad was being.

As the two boys were planning on heading to the pitch, a rain storm began outside so waiting for the wizards to end their meeting so that Lucius could perform a weather charm, Draco suggested that they go to the upper library and hang around not telling Harry that they would be able to eavesdrop on the adults.

In the library, the four men were soon seated in the comfortable conversation area then Sirius handed over what the goblins had given to him the day before. On it was a list of everywhere that contained Potter family heirlooms. They had recalled the ones at Hogwarts and from what I heard from Amelia Bones she is going to be dealing with Albus about illegally removing items from the estate. She is also looking into the estates of other war orphan that he had expressed any interest in, just to twist the knife"

"Severus, what did you find out about why they dripped Harry's blood onto Remus?"

"I have an idea but I don't want to say anything until I am positive. We should know by the end of next week." Severus said keeping the research he had found to himself. "Lupin, the wolfsbane potion will be prepared for you tonight."

"I will be staying at Grimmauld with Sirius supervising for the next three nights." Remus told the others. "It's strange, I haven't felt as short tempered as I usually am this close to the full moon."

"I think that is a side effect of what the goblins did, but want empirical evidence before I explain anything else." Severus said. "Before we split up for the afternoon, Black, you should know, Molly Weasley sent Hagrid an invite to Harry's party. He seems to believe it is still going to be at the Burrow."

"The Grangers sent out invitations to all of those Hermione felt Harry would want invited and I paid a visit to those who I was sure the Weasleys would invite to their place. The odd thing is that there were no children out side of their own and Hermione who were invited to the party. It's all adults." Remus replied. "Everyone except the Weasleys all RSVPed. Minerva said she would bring Hagrid with her to Harry's party."

"While serving my punishment I will speak to the Weasleys, maybe visit Arthur at work." Sirius replied with frown on his face. "I haven't been able to find the courage to tell Harry about Molly's past with the Potter family. Mainly because I really haven't developed an opinion of the the Weasley children."

Snape shook his head and answered. "The two eldest fled the country as soon as they legally could to get away from her controlling attitude. Bill is fairly intelligent and works for the Goblins. He is the eldest. A former head boy, he was well liked at Hogwarts. Worked hard for a Gryffindor."

Lucius shrugged when he saw Sirius looking his way. "What?"

"I know how you dislike the family. We both know that like my uncle you have dossiers on those who you consider problems." Sirius replied.

"Fine, Severus is right about the eldest. He graduated six years ago and promptly asked for a foreign assignment and only came back this summer. He had to, his mother offended his boss in Egypt last summer and the boy knew he was finished there thanks to her. He was offered a curse breaking position here and is first in line for the next foreign assignment this fall. He will be offered a job in Paris."

Remus saw Sirius looking his way and said "Never met the eldest or the one who works with dragons."

"Charlie is a bit hot headed, but when at Hogwarts, followed Hagrid around like a lost puppy." Snape stated. "Boy was besotted with dangerous animals as much as Hagrid and helped him with his so called pets. He hasn't been home and from what Kettleburn says, he like his brother was very eager to escape."

"Pretty much the same as what I have in my file except that he will be returning for the World Cup. Charles also tends to favor his youngest sibling. He often sends presents to Geneva from Romania." Lucius added.

"Who is next?" Sirius asked.

"Percy." Severus said with a shake of his head. "I spoke to him about his failing in his duties as prefect towards Potter during the boy's first year. Interestingly enough, he had a different plan of action and had one on one meetings with the muggleborn boys but when he requested his brother give Harry a note about meeting, Ron somehow convinced him that because Harry was a half blood he didn't need to meet. He ordered the menace to give Harry the note but he didn't show up. I spoke to Harry and found out he never got it."

"I taught Percy this year, he is a bit of a stickler for the rules, so if he says he tried to set up the meeting, he did try." Remus said. "I get the feeling he isn't very close to his family though."

"Amelia made him have a mental health evaluation after Crouch's death." Lucius said. Seeing the way they were looking at him, he said "Fudge told me."

"And?" Sirius asked.

"Boy admitted to feeling alone once his older brothers left England and that the twins are too loud for him to be around. He also isn't very fond of his younger siblings. He is like Lupin said a stickler for the rules and should do a good job in his new position. He is ambitious but is also very loyal to his father even if embarrassed at how his father seems to have no ambitions of his own."

"So like Molly?" Sirius replied.

"No, it's a different situation. Percy Weasley doesn't mind hard work or slogging through paperwork to get what he wants. He wouldn't want to take a short cut to get to the top, either." Lucius reluctantly admitted. "He also hasn't inherited her temper, he is more placid like Arthur is."

"What about these infamous twins." Sirius asked.

"They are trouble with a capital t." Snape answered but with a bit of admiration added "They should have been in Slytherin though."

"Really?" Sirius asked.

"Unfortunately yes." Snape answered. "Their plan is to open a joke shop to rival Zonkos when they are finished with school."

"So they want to put Harry's company out of business?" Sirius asked amused. Seeing the way the others were looking at him, he said "I bought into the company when Harry was born and put the stock into his vault. He has been getting profits put into a separate vault since that day."

"They gave Harry the map." Remus told Sirius. "They like we were are a bit obvious to the damage they create but with guidance they will mature. As for Zonkos, if they ever get the funding, they will probably be able to put it out of business. As for their relationship with Molly...they receive howlers from her about twice a month. At this point, they just walk out of the Great Hall and ignore them. They love their family but I don't think they are blind to it's faults."

"What about the boy Harry is friends with? This Ron?" Sirius asked.

The other three were quiet for a moment and then Remus said in an uncomfortable tone "If Ron accepts the changes in Harry's life things will be fine, if not, he is in for a bumpy ride. Ron is the most like his mother. I should tell you how he reacted to Hermione's going to Minerva about Harry's Firebolt..."

Fifteen minutes later, Sirius looked at Snape who had been quiet. "What is it?"

"I think that Ron will attempt to stay friends with Harry but he is going to be upset about his dropping Divination because he went for the easiest classes and will not like that Harry is no longer slacking off. He is also going to have a major issue when Hermione and Harry realize their feelings for one another. I only wish it was because he truly liked Granger but I don't think that is the case."

Remus agreed and then said "If Ron can mature he will be fine, but I also think that when he hears about the truce between Draco and the other two, he won't be happy and will order Harry to make a choice. Harry's progress will be determined by how he reacts."

"What about this girl?" Sirius asked.

"She is a nonentity in regards to the situation. I think Molly would love it if Harry and she started dating but otherwise, I think that there is nothing to worry about."

Lucius looked at Remus and said "Do you know how much those idiotic Harry Potter adventure books cost? They bilked the readers out of four galleons a book. For a family like the Weasleys, that is a lot of money. At a time when she bought everything second hand for her sons for school including textbooks and family wands were used for her sons, Molly purchased those books brand new for her daughter."

Up on the balcony a confused Harry was trying to figure out why Sirius disliked the Weasley family when he heard all three of his godfathers groaning in pain. He heard Lucius continue talking. "I think that it was her lucky day when Ron and Harry met on the train. Remember how she got Arthur to date her after all. He was betrothed to that Davis girl at the time."

"You really think she would go that far?" Sirius asked.

"This is the same woman who grew up on Potter land while her entire family worked for Charles and Dorea. The same woman who has long wished to have the Potter name, titles and wealth." Lucius pointed out. "Thankfully she realized that it wasn't going to happen and ended up moving on to Weasley."

Harry wanted to reject what Lucius was saying after all this was the man who had loathed them enough to have a feud with them.

He heard Sirius replying "I knew she resented Lily. That day at Madam Malkins, when she showed up and verbally attacked her when she saw her in her wedding gown instead of robes. First insinuating that she didn't deserve to wear white, then there were her disgusting comments about Lily living with the three of us as if she wasn't aware that the Headmaster had suggested Lily stay with us after she fought off Bellatrix."

"Is it true she called Evans a mudblood?" Lucius asked.

"WHAT?!" Harry heard the anger in the harsh tone of Snape's question and wanted to peer over the wood railing but he stayed quiet wanting to hear more shocked at the thought of Molly Weasley using that disgusting word. He was struggling to stay quiet, the hurt at the idea he had been lied to by someone who had hurt his mother creating an ache in his chest.

"Yes along with calling her a scarlet woman and a muggleborn in other words a loose woman. She apologized but James always believed that Arthur made Molly do so. I wasn't there that night when they showed up but I heard that for once Arthur recalled he wore the pants in that marriage. It might have been forgotten if she hadn't kept running her mouth to other witches about Lily but James never forgot what she did and when they showed up at the wedding. He stopped the ceremony when he saw her and demanded they leave." Sirius replied.

"Yet according to Harry she has been very kind to him. She even sent him Christmas presents that first year and they took him in last year." Remus added.

"I am fine with that. I just think that Harry needs to know the other side of the story." Sirius said. "I also know that Arthur doesn't have a mean bone anywhere in his body. Who knows, maybe she really have evolved but just in case I am going to tell Harry both sides of the story."

"The problem with Weasley senior is that he has no bones. He doesn't stand up to his wife and listens to everything Dumbledore says as if it is the last word." Lucius stated. "I heard that Perkins and he were upset that Bones conducted an audit of the goods they raided from various homes two years ago. They were ordered to produce all of the missing items within the next three weeks or be demoted."

"I doubt that Albus will give them up." Snape replied. "I know that he is furious that the Goblins have ordered him to return those he removed from Potter manor after I intervened and pointed out to the goblins that he had no legal right to them."

"Black, you three are going to have to tell Harry what all of those instruments do before he returns to Hogwarts. He deserves to know." Lucius pointed out.

Groaning, Sirius answered "I know. I just hope it goes better than the talk I had with him about growing up. If I ever meet Oliver Wood again, I am going to owe him big time."

Lucius chuckled and said "Snape told me."

Harry was embarrassed when his latest godfather said "I listened in on Lupin's behalf. We wanted to make sure you didn't traumatize the brat too much. If there was so much as a mention of a blow up doll and banana I was to hex you into next week. I believe you told me it was my choice of hex and anything less than an unforgivable was acceptable, wasn't that how you put it Lupin?"

"I owe you one, Moony." Harry got the feeling that Remus Lupin wasn't too worried when he blew a raspberry at his old friend. "Still, that Wood boy, he was as thorough as Harry mentioned and though I am a bit confused as to why he spoke to my pup, I am grateful."

"Turns out Wood talked to the Weasley twins as well." Severus added. He had in fact confronted the former Gryffindor Quidditch Captain looking for answers. "Apparently, after Arthur spoke to Charlie, Bill and he had a talk. Charlie did the same thing with Percy who apparently attempted to get through to the twins. When he saw them ignoring their brother, Wood stepped in. I did some checking into Wood. His father died and he has an older brother who stepped into that role for him."

"Lucius, how are things with Draco?" Remus asked. "We have been a bit busy with Harry and getting him ready for school next year but I have noticed that Draco has been sitting in on our lessons."

"He is still blushing when he sees Narcissa and myself." Lucius admitted. "He avoids us other than meals and the cooking lessons. I need to speak to him, find out exactly what he saw and talk to him but at the same time, I worry that if I push him too much he will retreat again."

Harry looked at Draco who seemed ready to lose his lunch, so he grabbed him by the arm and tiptoed back to the upper entrance. Once in the hallway, he quietly suggested that they head to the classroom.

When the door was shut, both boys sat on the nearby comfortable leather chairs both lost in thought. Harry's mind was on the discussion he had overheard about Molly Weasley. He needed to know the truth but before he confronted the woman he had believed cared about him, he needed to talk things out with Hermione. Hermione... he blushed as he recalled his half remembered dream that had ended with his kissing her on the lips instead of her cheek.

* * *

A day later, Remus was swallowing the wolfsbane potion and thanking Severus who had handed it to him in the basement of the Grimmauld Place manor. Sirius was getting ready to change into Padfoot when Severus stopped him and asked to speak to him in the hallway out past the solid steel door.

"What?" Sirius asked wanting to seal Remus and himself in as his friend has been rather nervous about things this month. "I have to get back in there. Moony is worried about how bad it is going to be since he hasn't felt his normal edginess. He is afraid it is going to be harder this month without the preparations his body usually goes through."

"I haven't told him because I don't want to give him false hope, but there is a reason for his unusual calm behavior. A potion master experimented with different options to create the wolfsbane potion before the Great War, Black. He never found an agent to neutralize the poison that would help the potion work. Larionovich who perfected the potion has long attempted to use it as a portal to cure Lycanthropy."

"What are you saying?" Sirius snapped.

"I will tell you in the morning, if I am right you won't need an explanation about what, simply why and how." Snape answered. Sirius changed into Padfoot when they heard the chimes of the clock announcing that it was almost eight o'clock.

The potion's master sealed the room and went back up to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of tea before falling asleep on the nearby sofa knowing that if he was correct Black's notorious impatience would want answers right away.

Dawn broke through the open curtains and Snape who had been dozing hurried downstairs to unlock the steel door and had barely stepped back when a large black dog barreled out of the room and knocked him to the ground before running around the lower level like the idiot it was in human form.

Peeking in, Severus saw the large hairy wolf but not werewolf curled up fast asleep and from the sounds of it snoring loudly and chuckled at being right. Leaving the door open he ignored the sound of Padfoot barking and went straight to the kitchen.

Sirius changed into his human form and looking at Snape asked "What the hell was that?"

"Let's wait for Lupin, I don't want to have to answer your questions more than once." Severus said pulling out the old potion's journal from Boston in the colonies and handed it over. "This might help."

Finding the appropriate article, Sirius read what had been theorized and found himself grinning as he realized the hope this would give his old friend. Looking up he said "Is this permanent."

"I am not sure. I figure if we watch and show our evidence to Diggory at the Ministry and Amelia Bones, we might have just found a way to help a hell of a lot of people." Snape answered. "At least if the goblins are willing to perform the ritual since it's illegal to perform blood rituals elsewhere."

"Oh Merlin, the ministry will want Harry's blood." Sirius said turning green.

"They won't need it. The basilisk is still in the chamber. The Headmaster sealed it and he might be forced to open it but he should have allowed the snake to be harvested anyhow. He was too busy covering up what happened to think about the very rare potion's ingredients that were available to be rendered. As for the phoenix tears, they need to be fresh so Harry won't work as a source. He only did for Lupin because of the ritual we were in the middle of. Lupin had already bled to protect Harry."

"I owe that goblin." Sirius said shaking his head. Looking at the red streaks in the sky, he grinned and said "It's the morning after a full moon."

Down in the basement, Remus Lupin was sitting on the soft bedding Sirius had had placed down there stunned to realize he hadn't turned into a werewolf the night before. He had been some sort of wolf but it hadn't been a were.

Standing, worried about pain, he was pleasantly surprised to feel none. Heading through the open door, he quickly climbed the steps to see Sirius standing there with a huge grin on his face.

No words were necessary as they tightly hugged one another and just held on while tears fell onto the sandy haired man's cheeks. Looking at Snape who was drinking tea and seated at the table, Remus finally asked "Was this you or the goblins?"

"They did this, I only altered the wolfsbane so that it didn't kill you if I was right and you didn't change. I wasn't expecting the timber wolf you turned into it though I should have." Severus replied as he watched the two men.

"We have to go tell Harry." Remus said with a grin on his face as he finally let go of Sirius. As he moved forward, he held out his hand to shake Snape. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank the goblins." He curtly replied. Looking at Black he said "Don't you have to meet Granger's mother at nine?"

Looking at the clock, Sirius grimaced as he saw that it was almost seven thirty and that he had to go home and change first. The trio exited the Black house and he flooed straight to his new place while Lupin flooed to Malfoy manor.

Severus returned to Hogwarts, today was only the 23rd of July but he knew that Harry's birthday was going to be quickly upon them and Minerva and he were preparing for the return of the Headmaster. They both knew that the secret of who Harry was staying with would soon be out and that there would be trouble on the horizon.

Meanwhile at Malfoy manor, Lupin only found Lucius at the breakfast table and no one else. "Where is Harry?"

"He went straight to see Ms. Granger this morning." Lucius said after inviting the other man to join him at the table. "Severus' house elf just about had a fit when the boy refused to eat breakfast. He drank his potion, took the muffins and fruit and then left after apologizing for not staying."

Remus frowned, Harry had been quiet all week, too quiet truth be told. He had been around his godson long enough to know that that meant something was going on and that he was keeping a secret.

With Harry secrets often meant danger so the not werewolf finished his meal and then sent a patronus to Severus asking him to come as soon as he could. Explaining to Lucius what was going on, he was soon told that Severus had mentioned the possibility to Lucius but had him promise to stay quiet in case things didn't work out.

The potion's master quickly arrived and after hearing why Remus was worried, suggested that they go to the Grangers to see Harry themselves. Lucius suggested that he side apparate Severus since he had never been to the Granger home while Remus brought himself.

Knocking on the door, they were let in by Hermione's father who said "They aren't here. Mr. Black and my wife went to the mall and he okayed Harry and Hermione heading into the city for the morning."

"London?" Remus asked sounding shocked.

"No, I believe they were heading into Crawley proper to locate a present for that young man my wife has been gardening with." Dr. Granger said. "They wanted to find something this morning before spending the afternoon working on a very secretive plan that they think I know nothing about."

"Should we be concerned?" Lucius asked the man who had somehow managed to settle his own son down this summer.

"I am not sure. I was rather hoping you would be able to tell me." The man said as he leaned on his golf bag which was behind the sofa. "They have been speaking in code about confronting a howler to learn the truth. They have both been sending that beautiful owl of Harry's back and forth between here and the Weasley residence."

"Uh oh." Remus said. He could only think of one person who could be nicknamed a howler. "Do you know what store they went to?"

"I heard mention of a stationary store, a typewriter shop and an antique store. Considering it is my daughter who went, you should check the two book stores in town and maybe the nearby gardening center since the present is for Mr. Longbottom." Dr. Granger said not mentioning that his daughter took his cell phone with her.

He might not know who but he had a good idea that whatever they were planning was harmless. So, heading out to this vehicle after wishing them luck, he went to join the rest of his foursome on the golf course.

* * *

Across the country, the current Vesta board were meeting. They were going to be rather busy over the next few months. Minerva and Boudica were telling the others about how things were working out with their latest crop of newcomers.

With the decision made to invite Vesta Initiate Cordelia Bucklehurst into full membership they moved on to the second Initiate, Molly Weasley. There was major disagreement about the former Molly Prewett so her invite was shelved for now after the standard half hour with Griselda Marchbanks warned not to speak to Albus Dumbledore about their inner workings.

The older witch had huffed and puffed before going silent, well aware that she had almost been sanctioned as a result of her early manipulations regarding Molly Weasley and the Granger girl on the Headmaster's behalf in spite of Minerva McGonagall originally getting the blame.

"Pending her success with the party, I vote we accept Narcissa Malfoy nee Black into membership." Boudica announced.

Griselda watched as other than her own vote the Malfoy witch was voted into membership as they moved onto her Vesta apprentice. It was decided that Hermione would continue on her track into full membership.

Amelia Bones was requesting names for possible apprenticeships for the next year when she noticed a strange beetle on a nearby chair. Using her wand, she swiftly stunned it and then conjured a jar with a lid.

Once the beetle was inside she quickly scanned the small red bug with very familiar markings and a feral grin came to her face as her monocle fell out of her eye. As soon as the meeting ended, she quickly exited the temple and returned to her office.

Once locked inside with Auror Tonks who she had grabbed as she entered the DMLE, she used the animagus revealing spell on the now released bug. As it turned into a human being, she said "Hello Rita, I think we need to have a nice long talk. So do you prefer the cell I have kept waiting for you in Azkaban or do you want to make a deal."

TBC

Up next:

Harry and Sirius speak about the Weasleys

Draco attends Neville's birthday party

Narcissa visits her sister

Severus speaks to Amos Diggory/Amelia Bones

AND Rita gets her just desserts.


	12. McGonagall's Revenge

A/N: I forgot I changed something in an earlier chapter and this is a correction paragraph from Not So Moony

In the library, the four men were soon seated in the comfortable conversation area then Sirius handed over what the goblins had given to him the day before. On it was a list of everywhere that contained Potter family heirlooms. They had recalled the ones at Hogwarts and from what I heard from Amelia Bones she is going to be dealing with Albus about illegally removing items from the estate. She is also looking into the estates of other war orphan that he had expressed any interest in, just to twist the knife"

"Severus, what did you find out about why they dripped Harry's blood onto Remus?"

Chapter Twelve

**Amelia Bones was requesting names for possible apprenticeships for the next year when she noticed a strange beetle on a nearby chair. Using her wand, she swiftly stunned it and then conjured a jar with a lid.**

**Once the beetle was inside she quickly scanned the small red bug with very familiar markings and a feral grin came to her face as her monocle fell out of her eye. As soon as the meeting ended, she quickly exited the temple and returned to her office.**

**Once locked inside with Auror Tonks who she had grabbed as she entered the DMLE, she used the animagus revealing spell on the now released bug. As it turned into a human being, she said "Hello Rita, I think we need to have a nice long talk. So do you prefer the cell I have kept waiting for you in Azkaban or do you want to make a deal." **

**The unregistered animagus looked ill as she sank into the chair that the young woman had placed behind her. "W-what do you want, Amelia? What do I have to do to keep from going to Azkaban?"**

"**Madam, I think that it might be safer if Ms. Skeeter was in Azkaban than walking the streets. If the wrong person finds out about her nasty little way of eavesdropping, she might end up at the wrong end of the right person's wand." Tonks stated with a slightly fearsome grin on her face.**

"**B-but if I do what you want, you won't tell anyone, right?" Rita asked with a slight shark look to her.**

"**Wrong, most definitely wrong," Amelia said. "Your days as an illegal animagus are over. You are going to write an article with my approval of course about your criminal behavior, your boss will be printing it and you will be registering with the Ministry. What choice I am speaking of, is do you want to be take the veritiaserum willingly or do I have Auror Tonks force feed it to you." **

"**I-I thought you were offering me a deal?" Rita said scowling.**

"**Oh, I am." Amelia said while nodding at the young auror who left the room to get a vial of veritiaserum. When she returned, Amelia shook the vial of clear liquid and replied "Do you want Auror Tonks to force you to drink the serum of will you do so willing?"**

**Rita stuck out her tongue with a resigned expression on her face and when she was under the influence of the truth potion, looked at the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. **

"**Who in the Ministry knew that you are an illegal animagus?" Amelia asked asked as she started a quote quill recording every word.**

"**I was found out by Delores Umbridge. She made a deal with me. I have to hand over any dirt I found on Wizengamot members and she keeps me out of prison." Rita replied.**

"**What have you passed on to her?" Amelia answered and got a litany of criminal behavior that included bribes being accepted by a long list of employees all the way to the former under secretary. Her information on Ludo Bagman took almost ten minutes and was enough to get the man fired immediately. "What about Fudge?"**

"**I never got close enough, it's how Delores caught me." Rita said while wearing a pout on her face. **

"**What do you have on Dumbledore?" Amelia asked as inspiration struck. She wasn't expecting anything but you never knew. To her surprise, the other woman's face lite up and she began to speaking.**

"**He lied about Grindelwald. Dumbledore was once bed buddies with Gellart and his sister died under mysterious circumstances. He has first choice of all plunder that the Muggle Misuse department removes during it's raids. He stuck the boy who lived with muggles in spite of the Potter will ordering things differently. Delores didn't want that known when I found out three years ago because she fears the boy's influence"**

"**How do you know about the will?" Amelia asked making a mental note to find out why Delores fears a boy who had only been eleven at the time.**

"**I snuck into his private quarters at Hogwarts and found a copy of the Potter will along with some other secrets. Did you know that he was aware that He Who Must Not Be Named when he attended Hogwarts?" Rita asked.**

**Looking at the clock, Amelia knew that the effectiveness of the serum would soon wear off so she asked Tonks to place Rita in her cell and ignoring the woman's loud complaints, went to floo the owner of the Daily Prophet.**

* * *

Narcissa felt her hands shake as she stood to greet her sister at the tea shop in the muggle world like Andromeda requested. She thanked the waiter who brought over her requested tea and all that accompanied it and when the man had left, she sat there, staring at her hands worried she had been left to sit here by herself.

"**Narcissa." **

**Standing, the youngest of the Black sisters, greeted Andromeda who held out her hand to shake Narcissa's. When they were seated across from each other, Andromeda asked "I am going to be blunt. What is this about?"**

**Gulping, Narcissa struggled to recall that her sister didn't know about what had happened all those years ago. That the woman who sat across from her looking so coldly at her had every right to hate her. **

"**Well?"**

**Narcissa looked down at her wedding ring and drew strength from it as she put her chaotic thoughts together and began to speak. "I'm sorry for how I treated you when you choose to marry your husband."**

"**What's going on, Narcissa? Tell me the truth because we both know that you have looked down on upon me since the moment you found out about my relationship with Ted. You despised me long before I married him." Andromeda pointed out, still staring at her sister.**

"**I was wrong." Narcissa replied.**

"**What is this, Cissy, tell me the truth. Did Malfoy lose all his money and now that Sirius is head of the Black family, did he insist you apologize?" She demanded.**

"**It's me telling you the truth, nothing more. No, Lucius is still unbelievable wealthy and Sirius doesn't know about this and I don't intend to tell him unless you want me to." Narcissa said. "I was wrong."**

**Narcissa heard the heavy sigh as Andromeda put her purse on the table and poured herself a cup of tea. "Why now?"**

**Looking at her older sister, Narcissa said "I am a captio initiate to be on the Acolyte Council like Great Aunt Hestia. I was assigned a muggleborn apprentice at the end of June. Her name is Hermione Granger and frankly before spending time with her, I had never knowingly spent more than five minutes in the presence of a muggle and had never spoken to one."**

**Andromeda looked at her sister as if trying to decide if she was being sincere so Narcissa kept talking. "Our son, Draco spent a week with her family and when he returned, the tales he told of Muggle life, of the things he saw, have both of us reconsidering our views on things."**

**Hearing Andromeda scoffing in disbelief, Narcissa said "In truth, I was skeptical, but Hermione is a wonderful, smart and very serious young lady with some very odd ideas but she along with another young man we have been hosting have had a profound change on myself and to a lesser extend Lucius."**

"**Your husband is a Death Eater." Andromeda finally spat out.**

"**Not by choice." Narcissa angrily retorted.**

**She saw Andromeda roll her eyes and heard her muttering about the imperio curse. "Lucius made a terrible choice, yes, but since it was either doing so or my death, I forgave him years ago."**

**When Andromeda looked disbelieving, Narcissa looked around and began to speak. "You weren't there, you don't know what was going on. Mother and Father were as fanatical as Walburga and her husband. Grandfather had died and it turns out Sirius NOT Regulus was to inherit everything."**

"**They had nothing to donate to their master, so they sold you to that bastard." Andromeda sneered. "Like a good little pureblood daughter you did what you were told."**

**Wrong, Andi. she hissed as her own anger grew. "O****ur lovely and poisonous relatives decided that I was expendable. They locked me in my room and ordered that damn house elf to watch me to keep me from escaping. Our dear parents and sister agreed that I was to be the magical virgin sacrifice in the hereditas cruor ritus."**

**Narcissa saw her sister pale as she began to understand. "I****wrote again and again to Sirius begging him to help me. He sent back my owl as undelivered. I begged, I BEGGED Bellatrix to help me and she reported me our parents after telling me I should be HONORED that I was being killed and violated. I was placed under the imperio. I demanded to know why I wasn't just married off to my betrothed to regain the funds but they still refused. I ran away and tried to find you. That damn house elf found me and brought me back after which I was potioned until I was practically senseless."**

**The horror on Andromeda's face was cathartic for Narcissa as for the first time in sixteen years she talked about her nightmare. "If it wasn't for Great Aunt Hestia, I would be dead. She found Lucius and told him what was going on. He had to save me from the ritual. It was too close, I was already in the basement at Grimmauld, potioned with the Draught of the Living Death. I was sixteen, Andi and our parents were willing to kill me for money."**

"**L-lucuis had already found the ritual in a book and had the antidote but they chased after us. We couldn't apparate out of the house and they were guarding the doors. There was only one thing we could do."**

**Andromeda was shocked as she stated in a monotone "You had to no longer be a virgin when that door opened."**

**With bitter laughter, Narcissa said "Yes. I lost my virginity that night, locked in a room in the attic. Lucius did what he could to make it easy for me, but  
still, it was about as romantic as a broom closet at Hogwarts. We waited until morning and ended up flying off the room of Lucius' Quidditch broom while dogging the killing curse which was being thrown at us by our family. We married that morning and we went to Malfoy manor where he was ordered to join his father at a Death Eater meeting. If he hadn't gone, we would have died."**

"**Bellatrix was there and our sister was baying for my blood, Andromeda. If Lucius hadn't allowed himself to be marked..."**

"**I know that you can't be forced, Narcissa. I know you have to commit a murder." Andromeda sneered.**

"**Oh, that wasn't a problem for Lucius." Narcissa said her tone ice cold. "He was ordered to kill was our dear father and uncle for disappointing their master. Orion and Cygnus died that night at the hands of my husband and that is one part of that mess he has never regretted."**

**Andromeda who knew that as part of the ritual her father and uncle would have violated the pretty much dead body of her sister before slitting her throat for greed found she had no regrets on that regard. "Why did he stay then?"**

"**Because there is no out, Andi. He quickly figured out that he was worth more to Voldemort for his connections and wealth than anything else so it was terrible but he still came home to me every night and just silently held me refusing to speak of what he did or saw. His father saw it as a weakness even if he had stood behind him in regards to saving me. Mainly because old Abraxas considered myself Malfoy property from the moment that the betrothal contract was signed."**

**Narcissa was weary as she finished telling her sister "We are pureblood and have always felt that the two worlds were too different to ever mix. That we were superior in all ways. That part has changed to a certain extent but not completely. Lucius has revised his beliefs to think that yes, muggleborn witches and wizards now belong in our world, he is floundering in how we protect our world but he does understand that muggles aren't completely worthless."**

"**I won't leave my family, not for you or anyone else." Andi spat out thinking of the letter she had received when she had married Ted.**

"**I don't want you to." Narcissa replied wiping the tear on her cheek away. "I just want my sister back. I want to know that you are proud of me for honoring Hestia's dream."**

**Andi let out a small smile at that statement. "I always figured if any of us ever received the Vesta honor it would be you. I never did have the ambition. I might have stood against the family for Ted but otherwise, I prefer being in the shadows."**

"**I have seen your daughter at the Ministry. You must be proud of her." Narcissa tentatively replied, thinking about the howler she had sent to her sister after finding out she had given birth to a half blood. "An auror who reports strictly to Amelia Bones herself.**

"**I am." Andi cautiously replied. "I heard about what happened when you fixed up Grimmauld for Sirius. I am rather surprised you went there after what you told me."**

"**It was part of my captio labours and I needed to face my demons. I will never be able to go to our parents home though." Narcissa admitted. "Lucius burnt the place to the ground later that year for me."**

"**I wish I had seen that." Andi replied. Looking at her sister, she said "How is Draco?"**

**With a smile, Narcissa said "At the moment avoiding his father and myself like we have dragon pox. He turned fourteen not long ago and Lucius gave him the talk. Later that night, he came looking for us for some reason and caught us in an intimate moment."**

"**Oh dear, we went through that with Dora when she was about fifteen." Andi said with a soft chuckle. "I really think she truly believed we have only been together the once that she believes it took to create her. She still acts awkward when she catches us kissing. Which is funny considering..."**

"**Considering...?"**

"**Dora has long believed she met her soul mate when she was a young child, she has refused to date and has been rather short with anyone who even thinks of flirting with her." Andi said with a heavy heart. "She might be right, Ted located her name on the book of lists but it doesn't show who that soul mate is. We had long given up hope that she would find this person."**

"**Something has changed?" Narcissa asked.**

"**When Sirius was publicly exonerated in front of the Wizengamot, she was there and there was an incident." Andi replied. "She felt something, an odd sense of fulfillment while in the gallery. A man who saved her when she almost fell. She is sure he is the one but she has no memory of meeting him and since her memory is photographic in nature when it comes to faces, it's a real puzzle."**

"**That must come in handy as an auror." Narcissa stated. "You know, I might be able to help her. A friend of Sirius' and his godson was in the gallery that day and Harry is rather observant himself. I am sure that you recall Remus Lupin, he was with the boy..."**

**Andi froze and looked at Narcissa as the answer hit her. A werewolf... yet if she didn't tell her daughter...no, how could she keep such a big secret from her. Her voice was shrill as she said "Remus Lupin was there."**

"**Yes." Narcissa answered then looking at the strange expression on her sister's face said "You are the last person I would expect to have a problem with Remus Lupin."**

**Groaning, Andi said "You don't understand. I have no issues with his disease, it's that, when Dora first met Remus, when Sirius brought him around all those years ago, when Dora was six, she announced to him that she was going to marry him someday. He was kind to her and even put up with her telling him all about the future they would have together without being condescending."**

"**Oh dear." Narcissa wasn't sure what to think about this one. Even if she knew about the changes in Lupin's illness, she wasn't sure how to feel about what she was sure Andi was about to say. "Why do I think that I am about to learn even more about being open and accepting."**

"**You're not the one who is going to have to tell her very overprotective husband that his daughter's soul mate is a werewolf who happens to be fifteen years older than her." Andi pointed out. **

"**Maybe you are wrong and even if you are right that doesn't meant that Remus is just going to go down on his knees and propose to your daughter." Narcissa pointed out.**

"**Cissy, Nymphadora is a Black. We always get our man." Andi pointed out with a half grin and half frown on her face. "Ted is going to want to kill him and it isn't even Lupin's fault."**

**The two women drank their tea, both imagining the reactions of their respective husbands to the latest news. As the last of the sweets on the top tier of the tea tray was finished Andi asked her sister "Have you been to see Bella since she was placed in Azkaban?"**

"**No, I need to face her. To get past my fear of what happened but I have been avoiding doing so. For so long it, I excused it as not wanting to see Sirius, but now that he is freed, I have thought about it." Narcissa said. "It's difficult because in spite of everything she has done, she is still my sister. Still the person who fixed my dolls when they broke, the person who held me when Mother and Father would go off with their respective mistresses. Yet, she changed..."**

"**I know." Andi said staying quiet on what she knew about WHY Bellatrix had become who she had. Terrible things had happened to their elder sister, things she had only become aware of once she worked at St. Mungos. Andi often wondered if the reason Bellatrix had clung so tightly to her beliefs and her new master was because she had had nothing else.**

* * *

After two days of Harry playing hide and seek from Sirius, his first godfather finally tracked him down in his room at the manor. "Harry?"

**The teenager put on a blank face and turned to look at him. "Yes?"**

"**I have been avoiding speaking to you about some things. Would you object to taking a walk in the garden?" Sirius asked stiffly.**

**Nodding, not trusting his voice, Harry followed Sirius down the back stairs and out to the side rose gardens. Soon seated on a stone bench with a dark green wrought iron back, he watched as in the distance a peacock chased one of the peahens.**

"**I wanted to say that I am proud of how well you are doing in teaching those who remain to cook. I do want to add if you ever feel reminded of the Dursleys while doing so, please tell us so that we can stop the lessons." Sirius said looking at his godson and making the offer like Remus had suggested.**

**With a smile, Harry said "Once I was older, that was one of the few things I actually enjoyed doing there. I only wish I had been allowed to eat the food."**

**Sirius flinched at that statement and Harry hastily added "It's the past. I am working my way through it, I promise, Sirius."**

"**I hate what they put you though. What they are facing in prison is nothing compared to what they did to you."**

"**I wanted to ask, were they really hiding the guns or was that something you set up?" Harry asked.**

"**It was a set up because Severus found that the punishment was equal to what they would have gotten for their abuse of you. We wanted to make sure that they paid for their crimes without you having to testify especially when we found out about the funds that they had been squirreling away and what they stole from you. Their emotional and mental abuse would have been hard to prove since muggles don't have pensives." Sirius stated. **

"**I am fine with it." Harry admitted staring at his hands. **

"**You should know, they weren't the only people using items that belonged to you. The Headmaster..."**

"**I heard about the little charms on those silver things that were monitoring me at Hogwarts." Harry said in a drained tone. "I didn't want to believe that along with everything else the Headmaster knew the truth but when I found out about Ms. Figg who knew the truth, it hurt."**

"**The words I am sorry will never be enough, Harry." Sirius replied. "The Goblins have requisitioned everyone that belongs to the Potter estate. They have been trying to locate your parent's magical portraits but had had no luck so far. I will do whatever it takes to find them."**

"**Why do you suppose the Headmaster took them?" Harry asked looking at Sirius. "That is what I don't understand."**

"**I honestly don't know. Severus has the theory that it is because they might know the truth about myself and the secret keeper and or that they could testify about who you should have really been living with." He answered. "****鉄****Speaking of Snape, how are you doing with the changes?"**

**Harry chuckled at that one and said "It has been awkward at times. I still keep waiting for him to snap at me for absolutely nothing. Yet, since that moment at the bank when he hugged me and kissed my forehead as part of the ritual I have felt closer to him."**

"**It's what the ritual is supposed to do, pup." Sirius said as he realized they had never explained that part of the ritual to the teenager. "I have seen him watching you, he does feel affection towards you."**

"**He was great the morning after Draco and I were hungover" Harry said with a grin. "He told me a story about Lucius and him when they were our age. The only thing I wondered was if they knew what those cigarettes they smoked really were?"**

**Sirius let out a laugh that was almost a bark as he realized what Harry was talking about. "I doubt it. You should tell them sometime. It might be interesting."**

"**Did you know that Mr. Malfoy has managed to slither out of the remaining cooking lessons?" Harry asked.**

**With a smirk, Sirius said "I was told by Narcissa when she expelled me from the lessons on Sunday. I didn't tell her this but she sort of reminded me of Professor McGonagall when she used to give your father and I detention."**

"**Remus and Severus are both coming this weekend to my last lesson." Harry said proudly. "Draco is too."**

"**Yes, I heard. Remus told me just before Severus and he went to speak to Amelia and Amos Diggory about what happened on the last full moon." Sirius replied. Looking at Harry he said "If they accept that he is no longer a werewolf, he is going to try and get his teaching job at Hogwarts back. Would you be upset about it, you know considering the godfather thing."**

"**No, I mean I already have Severus on staff and he is the toughest teacher at Hogwarts." Harry pointed out. "However if he does come back, I think we should have a meeting with all four of us to come to an agreement about when you are punishing me as my professor and when as my guardians."**

"**We have already been talking about that." Sirius said with a smirk. "Though, Harry if you are already considering this that means you are already planning mischief. You should know, it took quite a bit of talking to convince the other two not to confiscate your cloak and that map."**

"**That's not fair, you used it when you attended Hogwarts." Harry said standing and turning to glare at his godfather. **

"**Yes, we did." Sirius replied. "We just didn't face trolls, dead dark lords and basilisks let along dementors before our fourth year. We have agreed to sit down and come up with a set of rules and punishments for misbehaving. I have to admit we didn't consider the issue of you having your godfathers teaching but we will add it to the topics of discussion."**

"**This is so going to be unfair." Harry muttered still wearing a slight grimace.**

"**You have to take the good with the bad, pup." Sirius replied. With a heavy heart, he looked at his godson and said "Harry we need to talk about Molly Weasley."**

**Without letting Harry reject his choice of conversation, he told the boy the same story he had already overheard in the library, this time just giving more details that had the teenager biting his lip as he struggled to control his anger. When he finished he asked "Do you want to talk about this?**

**Sinking onto the stone path, Harry looked up at Sirius and told him he had overheard part of the story. "No, I do want to talk to Mrs. Weasley though. I have to face her, find out if she encouraged Ron to befriend me."**

**When it was clear that Sirius had misgivings, Harry had him agree to keep what he was about to tell him a secret and then said "Hermione and I have a plan to confront her."**

**He didn't tell Sirius that they were going to test it on Ron and Ginny first, as he took a deep breath and said "We have brewed veritiaserum and are going to dose her before I ask her the truth."**

**His jaw dropping as his godson just announced he was planning on committing a serious criminal offense. "Harry do you realize that even if you correctly brewed the potion the use of it is highly regulated by the Ministry."**

"**Hermione and I looked at the law. If we claim that we were doing so as an experiment and that there was no intention of using what we learned against Molly there is a loop hole in the law." Harry announced. "I have a copy of it and the loop hole in my room. We even talked to a lawyer about it already."**

**Sirius was once again reminded of how much of a combination of his parents Harry was. His plans to brew and use a highly regulated and dangerous potion when he wasn't even fourteen reminded him of James but the knowledge that he had a way to protect himself reminded him of Lily. "How much of this is Ms. Granger's idea?"**

"**She had the idea of using the potion after all we knew it wouldn't be much harder than brewing the polyjuice potion and this time we are more prepared and better trained than we were in second year." Harry had not realized that they had never told his godfathers about brewing the polyjuice potion and that Sirius was gobsmacked at more than the latest incident as he continued to speak. "I was the one who wanted to keep her out of trouble if we got caught. We went to the magical library and found the relevant law the morning after the full moon. We spoke to the lawyer two days ago."**

**Shaking his head to clear it, Sirius was trying to find a way to convince him not to do this but found that he had to agree with Harry's determination to find out the truth.**

**They heard the pop of a house elf and were reminded that they were to have dinner with Madam Pomfrey coming as a guest. Joining Boudica Pomfrey after they had changed into dress robes, Sirius moved towards Remus and Severus who were standing near the fireplace while his godson was answering the older witches questions about his summer studies. **

"**Were either of you aware of Harry and Hermione making polyjuice potion in Moaning Mrytle's bathroom during his second year." He hissed.**

**Severus ruefully nodded yes stating "I had to brew an antidote when Ms. Granger accidentally used cat hair and not human. I had no idea that they had been success brewing the potion though I am not surprised."**

"**We need to talk." Sirius said before turning to see Narcissa and Hermione joining Harry and Boudica. "I sometimes think Harry is McGonagall's revenge for every single prank and bit of mischief we got into at Hogwarts. I am going to have gray hair before I am forty." **

"**You haven't even been out of Azkaban a year, Lupin has been back in direct contact with him for even less than that. How do you think I feel?" Snape pointed out as he left the two Marauders and joined Lucius who was pouring himself a drink. **

"**What is up with those two?" Lucius asked.**

"**They are learning that with Harry Potter to expect the unexpected. Somehow Sirius learned Granger and the boy brewed polyjuice potion while second years." Severus said with a huge smug grin on his face. When he heard Lucius choke on his fire whiskey he said "Did I happen to mention that they did it in an abandoned bathroom? That the potion was a success?"**

**Shaking his head, Lucius looked over at his own son and said "I am so grateful that Draco wasn't friends with them at that point."**

"**You know Harry and he are plotting on making the Ravenclaws pay for tormenting the Lovegood girl, right?" Severus asked wanting to spread the potential parenting grief around as widely as he could. **

"**Oh I fully expect to get letters from you regarding his behavior this year." Lucius replied. Shaking his head, he added "What scares me is that if those three pair up, they will rule the world by the time they are out of school. It makes me feel my age."**

**Looking at the other wizard, Severus said "You aren't the one who is going to have to reign them in. I almost prefer it when they are after each other, at least that I can handle."**

**Lucius had a contemplative look on his face as he said "how much do you want to bet that they drive the old man out of Hogwarts by the end of the year?"**

* * *

Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory listened as the face of the Unspeakables Croaker finished answering their questions about how it was possible that Remus Lupin was no longer a werewolf.

"Did Severus Snape tell you about the alterations he made to the wolfsbane potion?" Croaker asked.

"Yes, he gave me a copy of the formula." Amos replied as he handed over the scroll. "So you knew all along there was a way to turn werewolves away from being feral."

"It isn't as simple as that. We knew that there was a potion but it requires basilisk venom and phoenix tears which are in short supply. At least they were until you were told where to find a dead basilisk. Albus Dumbledore has a lot to answer for." Croaker said in an angry tone. "I know of a second phoenix in Britain who I can approach for the tears if Dumbledore refuses us access to Fawkes."

"However, the other issue is that it has to be mixed with blood of someone who the werewolf has spilled his for. We have another issue as well." Croaker said. With a shake of his head he admitted "The werewolf has to want to know longer be a were which with Lupin has always been the case. He was bitten as a child by that bastard Greyback who worked with Voldemort."

When he saw the other two shuddering at the mere mention of the man's name, Croaker said "I studied the text that Potion Master Snape offered and I think that the changes he made in the wolfsbane potion will allow Lupin to use the wolf as something similar to an animagus form."

"How do we study this?" Diggory asked. "How about we bring Lupin in and use him to study."

"Won't work." Croaker said annoyed with the man whose callous disregard for the innocent children affected by Lycanthropy had always turned his stomach. "I am going to speak to Severus Snape and this Goblin Hytooth personally. We have another issue that we need to deal with before making this public."

"Which is?" Amos asked determined to use this new development to held end the werewolf problem and to do it immediately.

"It's illegal to perform this ritual outside of Gringotts because it is a blood ritual." Croaker pointed out. "You want to use this to help unwilling weres, you have to deal with Dumbledore and the Wizengamot because he refuses to see anything dealing with blood rituals as anything other than dark magic."

Growling, Amos Diggory stormed out of the small office determined to find a way past the small mindedness of Albus too many middle names Dumbledore. He found the man annoying on a good day and pompous and manipulative on a bad one. He knew he had to create a coalition to get this new plan past the Wizengamot and if he had to thumb his nose at Dumbledore to do so, he would take pleasure in doing just that.

Croaker looked at Bones and said "The boy owns the basilisk due to his killing it. You might want to make a deal with him for the carcass before the Headmaster sticks his overly large nose in it. Work with Diggory and get the skin to make protection gear for your department. As for Lupin, request permission to observe his change next month for Diggory, yourself and me and we will certify him by the next morning if he doesn't change."

"Thank you, Croaker." she replied as she exited at a more sedate pace than the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. When she located Diggory he was already making plans to speak to the Potter boy and writing up lists of who would and wouldn't be on his side if he went to the Wizengamot on lifting blood ritual restrictions.

"Amos, I have to head up to the chamber, today is the trial for Rita Skeeter. You should know, that this brought Albus Dumbledore back early from his meetings in Belgium." she announced as she was waved at while the man kept up muttering and writing himself notes.

* * *

Rita fearfully looked around the courtroom and sitting in the defendants chair plead guilty to the one count of being an illegal animagus which was part of the deal she had finally worked out with the help of her attorney.

**Looking at the Wizengamot members she was sure that they had all read the special edition that her former employer had printed and had been forced to hand out for free as part of their own deal with Amelia Bones. **

"**Does the defendant have anything to say in her own defense?" Dumbledore asked. When Rita wisely replied no, he looked at Madam Bones who was prosecuting the case herself. "I understand that there is an agreement regarding sentencing."**

"**Yes, a fine equal to half her salary and the Daily Prophet which was aware of her criminal activities must pay a fine double that amount. She is forbidden from working as a reporter even again and may not write and public articles or books for the next ten years. She is banned from working in any form of media and must register her animagus form. Due to extenuating circumstances, she is going to be allowed to keep her wand. We have agreed to a protective spell that will notify us of the signature of any wand that should hex Ms. Skeeter, this is to keep her alive until she testifies regarding the criminal behavior of the many, many witches and wizards she spied upon. At the end of five year, she may emigrate elsewhere but she must inform us of where and register her animagus form unless she agrees to have her magic bound."**

"**A little harsh don't you think?" Albus asked.**

"**The minimum punishment for being an illegal animagus is one year in Azkaban, when you add in her blackmail of Ministry employees, her breaking and entering of various buildings and that she had been on the loose doing this for over ten years, I feel that the agreed upon sentence is rather light." Madam Bones reported.**

**Albus shook his head at Rita and then agreed to the recommended sentence. Rita was lead out of the courtroom and when Albus asked about new business, there were a flurry of raised hands. The Wizengamot moved on but several in the chamber were making their own plans to get a hold of Rita and making her talk.**

* * *

Draco received an owl from Theodore Nott about an invitation he had received for Neville Longbottom's birthday party. He had always known that Theodore like Neville was interested in Herbology and wasn't surprised to find out that they got along with each other.

What was a surprise was the part in the note where Theodore told him that his father was encouraging him to attend and that Neville had told Nott that he had invited Draco. The blond had been trying to decide whether or not to attend but knowing at least one other Slytherin would be there, sent Neville's grandmother an RSVP then went to find Harry.

Locating him in the kitchen, he sat on the counter nearby to where the other boy was copying a recipe to be used for their next lesson, he asked "Why do the house elves let you in here and act like my being here is a crime."

"You are their future lord and master." Harry said looking up and then admitting. "When the godfathers took me to Potter Abbey it was the same way. The house elves there acted as if they had done something wrong when I went to make myself a cup of tea in the dower house, we didn't even go up to the main house because the Headmaster has some sort of ward to let him know that I was there."

"I sent my RSVP to Longbottom's birthday party. What should I get him that won't get me in trouble?" Draco asked.

"A rare plant, the rarer the better or a book on plants. Hermione and I got him this muggle pen set that he liked using at the Grangers and her parents got him a muggle bicycle because he liked learning to ride on Hermione's." He said.

"I saw muggles riding on those contraptions and they look dangerous." Draco stated.

Harry looked at Draco and asked "More dangerous than riding a broom high in the air and at fast speeds?"

There was the sound of footsteps before Draco could answer and Lucius entered the kitchen to see the two boys. "Draco, your mother has decided that we are going to the opera this evening, please be prepared to leave promptly at six."

When Lucius said the smirk on Harry's face, he looked at his son and said "Be sure to show Harry the correct clothes to wear as he is to attend as well."

"But-."

Harry didn't have a chance to protest as Lucius swept from the room as quickly as he entered. With a gloomy expression on his face, he looked at Draco and asked in a resigned tone "How long is a magical opera?"

"Two hours give or take, thankfully there is an intermission that lasts about a half hour. My guess is that this is to be punishment for father regarding his newly scheduled meeting during the last cooking lesson."

"But why are we being punished, after all we are going to be there." Harry pointed out as he stacked the finished recipe and followed Draco up the back stairs.

"Mother seems to feel that if she exposes me and now you to cultural events, we might somehow like them. I hate Opera almost as much as I hate getting dirty at something other than Quidditch but I have to attend at least one a year. Before Hogwarts it was every other month." Draco said as he led the way to his room.

Throwing himself back onto his bed, he waited until Potter was on his other side and asked "I think we need to prank my father as punishment for this."

"I agree." Harry darkly replied. "I have an idea on how to do just that. Do you think we could find a way to go to where I used to live? I think that if the police haven't searched the house, I know exactly where to find what we need in my cousin Dudley's room."

"Didn't you end up owning that house?" Draco asked.

"Yes, the godfathers signed the paperwork and were going to put it up for sale later this year, it's why I have hope what we need is still there. If you think your dad is in trouble with your mom now, wait until we are done with him." Harry replied with a grin on his face that had Draco laughing.

"Speaking of revenge. I have an idea of how to deal with the Ravenclaw's who picked on that girl." Draco said.

"Don't you find it odd you are protecting someone who you yourself would have harassed before last year?" Harry asked.

Lifting his head, Draco hotly refuted that statement saying. "You are wrong. Well sort of, picking on the defenseless would have gotten me in major trouble with Severus. Its why I harassed who I did, you can defend yourself unlike someone like Lovegood. It's no fun if your victim can't give as good as they get."

Harry laughed and seeing Draco looking over, he said "Sorry I was just remembering the look on your face when Hermione punched you."

Rubbing his now fixed nose, Draco said "Are you sure you want to be her boyfriend, she is pretty strong for such a thin girl. I couldn't believe how bad that hurt."

"Why were you surprised, did you never notice how many books she carries around in that bag of hers?" Harry asked. "Besides, Hermione is only violent when someone truly deserves it and I never said I wanted to be her boyfriend."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be dreaming about kissing her." Draco taunted him with what he had admitted a few days before. "Still, I think for the good of the school, you have to date Granger. You should be kept away from your poor deluded fan girls who want you for your name and your quidditch skills and the rest of the male species doesn't deserve to suffer a Granger on the loose."

"She is pretty." Harry said with a sigh that got him shoved off the bed and onto the floor. Draco moved to the edge and looking over threw a pillow at him. "I can't help it, remember?"

"When is Remus going to remove the charm, anyhow?" Draco said as he looked at Harry. "Why did he place it on you in the first place?"

"He was aiming for Severus, I just walked between them and on the receiving end of it. It's why I have avoided Hermione since that dinner where Madam Pomfrey was here." Harry replied. "Add Remus to our list of those we get revenge on too."

Draco pretended to write into the air Harry's order and then looking around said "We have to get changed into our dress robes. We will be expected downstairs soon."

Harry went to shower and change. When he was wearing the required outfit, he was trying to fix his hair on the mirror and listening to it snidely suggest that he forget about his hair and worry about his face he heard a knock on the door.

"Enter if you dare." He called out and when Lucius Malfoy entered wearing an outfit similar to his and a smirk, he said "Sorry, I thought you were Draco."

"I came to see if he had told you what to wear. I see he did." Lucius moved over and straightened his collar and batted the boy's hands away from his hair. "I have an idea how to fix this rat's nest."

Using a spell to shorten Harry's hair, he used a sticking charm to make it even more messier and said "There that should look more acceptable."

"But now my scar sticks out." Harry said scowling at the mirror that was now telling him his face was going to freeze like that. "Oh shut up."

"I am not finished." Lucius said and using a small glamour covered the scar. "This should hold until later."

"Too bad it can't be permanent." Harry replied as he grinned at his reflection.

"I guess you are passable." The mirror replied. "Or at least you won't have witches hurling hexes at you."

Harry just ignored the mirror until he was at the door following Lucius to the main staircase. "I really, really hate that mirror."

"Maybe if you were as handsome as I am, it wouldn't insult you." Draco replied as he joined them on the stairs. In the front entrance way as they waited for Narcissa, Harry and Draco were getting a lecture on acceptable behavior when Harry heard a sound and looked up.

Standing at the top of the staircase with Narcissa Malfoy was Hermione wearing an incredibly perfect pale pink gown and long gloves. "Oh bugger me."

Draco looked over at Harry and then at Hermione before chuckling. "Why do I think that tonight is going to be very interesting and that a certain former werewolf just moved to the top of the revenge hit list."

"Help me!" Harry desperately whispered as he began to sweat, his mind on the honesty charm that had had him babbling about Hermione's looks, brains and charm for the last two days. Now he would be forced to spend time with her and there was no way he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

"Lucius had moved forward to greet his wife and her apprentice. When he saw the uncertain expression in the Granger girl's eyes when Harry didn't greet her, he leaned down and whispered in her ear "My dear he is stunned stupid."

She couldn't help it, she laughed and moved to where Harry was standing, with his jaw wide open and his eyes staring deeply into hers. "Hello Harry."

"Hi Hermione, you look beautiful." He said and then as if unable to help himself in spite of his brain shouting no, he leaned in and pressed a kiss not to her cheek like normal but right on her lips. When he pulled away, he asked "Will you be my girlfriend?"

TCB

Up next

Dun, dun, dun... Harry will stick his foot in his mouth

Albus will oh so generously go to pick up his pawn at Privet Drive

Dobby turns up

Two sisters visit a third

Amos Diggory makes Harry an offer


	13. Say it with Flowers

Chapter Thirteen

Lucius was having one of the best times he had ever had in his life at the Opera and it had nothing to do with the drama going on down on the stage. No, the more interesting and amusing story was playing out in their theatre box. Harry Potter had not said another word to the Granger girl after he had stumbled through his question asking her to be his girlfriend.

The boy had completely and totally shut down emotionally. Normally Lucius would have expected the girl to be angry with the boy, but it seems like Hermione understood that the emerald eyed boy had not expected the words that had come out of his own mouth. She had alternated between blushing a deep maroon color and looking like she wanted to faint.

Draco didn't help matters because he kept laughing in totally inappropriate moments as he looked between Harry and Hermione. His wife also seemed more bemused than upset as they sat in between the children. The two boys were on his left and Hermione was sitting on Narcissa's right.

Intermission came and he escorted the boys to retrieve drinks for the two witches and had had to interrupt whatever evil it seemed that Harry was insisting on wrecking on Remus Lupin for the honesty charm he had inflicted Harry with. Draco was his eager assistant and it was becoming clear that after tonight, the former werewolf might want to go to ground because Harry Potter was plotting revenge.

When they had returned to the box and hand handed over the flutes of sparking wine, non-alcoholic for Ms. Granger and the more potent drink for his wife, Lucius handed the two boys their opera glasses and leaned in to whisper to his wife. "How is she doing?"

"Confused as to why Harry is so mad at Lupin, but she understands. She said she was surprised he hadn't completely shut down. And this next part is a direct quote 'Harry is normally very Slytherin when it comes to speaking about his feelings. He makes sure he knows what the other is feeling before saying what he feels.' She seems to understand him very well and her answer to his question will be yes if he ever lets her speak again."

Lucius looked at her and asked in a mocking tone. "Are we back at Hogwarts and should I pass on the message like we are in Charms class and Rookwood wanting to know if Parkinson is interested in going to Hogsmead with him this weekend?"

"Lucius, if you don't want to find out how comfortable the sofa in your study is for sleeping, I suggest you stop speaking to me now." She replied and looked forward as the lead soprano began her opening number for the second half.

With a smirk, Lucius leaned in and whispered "You know you would regret kicking me out of our bed tonight."

"Don't be so sure about that." She sweetly replied.

Harry was in the middle of his worst nightmare, he had confessed his feelings to Hermione and then had completely ignored her. He was beyond scared as he sat there listening to the heavy set woman on stage singing what to him sounded like a shout for help.

Peering around the married Malfoys, he looked at Hermione who was using the opera glasses given to her by Narcissa as a present to watch the show. He couldn't help staring, she looked absolutely beautiful with her hair pinned on the top of her head and the glow that reflected off the soft pink color of her dress. He didn't know what the top was called but it was form fitting and the neckline was squared off leaving just enough room to show off the pearls she was wearing.

He felt Draco nudge him and he glared at the blond who rolled his eyes and leaned in to whisper "The show is over, Potter. We are getting ready to go to dinner."

"OH." He replied then wearing a frown asked "Did the hero and the girl run off together?"

"Potter, Desdemona killed herself." Draco pointed out. "Did you pay any attention to the opera or did you spend all of your time daydreaming about kissing Hermione again?"

Flushing, Harry said "I liked kissing Hermione, she smells good, kind of like your mom."

"I don't know whether to be revolted at your statement about Hermione or your comment about how my mother smells good." Draco replied. "You have GOT to get Lupin to remove that spell before you end up in serious trouble. And don't let me father hear you talking about my mother that way."

"Draco?" Harry groaned when he heard the sound of Lucius Malfoy's voice and without thinking said "I'm sorry sir. It's just she smelled nice when she was brushing my hair off my face that first morning. It's not like I want to kiss her like I do Hermione though."

With a confused expression on his face, Lucius asked "Harry what on earth are you talking about?"

"Narcissa sir. I promise, I don't want to kiss her, not like I want to Hermione, I mean... After all Mrs. Malfoy is too old for me." He said stuttering as he tried to convince the older man he wasn't interested in his wife. Draco by now was holding onto the balcony railing laughing as Harry just kept digging himself in deeper and deeper as he tried to keep himself out of trouble.

By the time he was finished, Draco wasn't sure if it was Hermione or his father who were more confused by his statements. The one thing he was certain of was that if Harry kept speaking his mother was going to hex him into next week. "Harry, now is the time to stop talking."

Looking at the blond, Harry said "What?"

Pointing to where his mother was now a nice shade of pink, he said "You described my mother as old."

"No I didn't." He said scowling at the other wizard. "I would never insult her like that."

"Wow, you are so obvious to the danger you are in right this minute. I was taught by my father a long time ago, to never use my mother's name and the word old in the same sentence, any witches in fact." Draco wisely announced.

Harry just looked at the other boy as if he was crazy and turned to Narcissa Malfoy and said "Mrs. Malfoy, you know that I am not saying you are old, right? Just too old for me. I mean, even Hermione is older than me. I am the youngest of the ..."

The glare coming his way had Harry shutting up as he looked over at Draco and his father who were both trying not to smirk at him as the blond witch suggested to Harry in a very terse tone that he stop speaking before he ended up in even more trouble.

Harry decided that was a wise idea when he saw that it wasn't only Mrs. Malfoy glaring at him but Hermione who leaned in and said "You have got to be channeling Ron because right now you have the emotional depth of a teaspoon."

* * *

It was just after the morning session in the Wizengamot when Albus had a brilliant idea. He had been looking for a way to revive his plans for the TriWizard tournament and he knew just the person to convince the rest of the members to reconsider his plan.

Writing a note and sending it with a Ministry owl to the Weasleys to inform them that Harry Potter would be coming to stay with them as of tomorrow afternoon, Albus went back into the meeting. He heard Amos Diggory calling out his name and turned to greet one of his Ministry allies only for the man to be standing with Theodore Nott Senior and Gagarin McMillan, a rather odd trio if he did say so himself.

"Amos, what may I do for you today?" Albus said with a smile on his face as he wondered if there had been some sort of incident involving a Magical Creature that he had to know about.

"I am going to be introducing legislation to upgrade the rules governing werewolves in tomorrow's session." Amos replied. "We also need to speak to you about relaxing the rules on blood rituals at the request of St. Mungos and the Department of Mysteries."

"I am rather afraid that I can't allow you to put that bill to the Wizengamot, Amos. I will never convene any session of this honored institution so that it's membership may promote loosening the rules against the dark arts." Albus stated. "I rather believe you must have been confunded to ever even consider doing such a thing. I will be sure to suggest that you be given a leave of absence Amos, clearly you are feeling rather ill."

Amos simply nodded at the man and then said "I am feeling terrific and, with all due respect, sir. You are the Chief Warlock, it is your job to allow me to speak tomorrow. If you try to interfere, it won't be me who is required to take a leave of absence. Sir, there are times when it is in the best interests of the most brilliant minds to listen with an open mind and sealed lips."

With that, he walked away, well aware that the Headmaster would do all he could to avoid calling on him during the next session of the Wizengamot, but he was well prepared for that to happen. Nott and McMillan had been willing to also be evaded the next morning, that was why the proposed rule changes were to be announced by a third party that the Headmaster would never expect. He was finding it amusing already as he imagined the look on Dumbledore's face when he could not stop the enviable as someone from the old man's own coalition sponsored the new law.

Albus was annoyed with losing Amos Diggory from the side of the light, even as he began to make plans to visit Privet Drive the next morning to bring Harry to the Ministry with him and then to stay with the Weasleys. He was already working on plans to obstruct Sirius Black from spending time with the boy as he returned to Hogwarts where he found Minerva speaking with Moody who was waiting for him at Hogwarts.

"Alastor, this is a pleasant surprise." He said as he greeted his old friend. "Would you care to join us for dinner this evening?"

"I am rather busy today, Albus. I only came because I felt I owed it to you to pass on my news face to face." Moody stated. "Amelia Bones has been given an increased budget and has asked me to step into the role of mentor for some of her newest aurors. I start on Monday, so I rather afraid you must find someone else to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this fall."

Albus watched as Moody thumped down the corridor towards the front hall even as he tried to find a way to keep the man as the new DADA professor. Annoyed as he realized that that meant he was once again without a way to host his TriWizard tournament, Albus told Minerva he needed to have a meeting with the Heads of the Houses that evening.

"Albus, Severus is at a meeting with St. Mungos, Filius is at his yearly meeting with the Goblins and I have dinner reservations with Griselda Marchbanks." She replied. "It will have to be another night."

* * *

Lucius entered his wife's study and saw the vase filled with purple hyacinths and silver flumes that was on her desk and that she was smiling at. "Should I be jealous?"

Narcissa looked at her husband and said "Harry sent them as a gift for his unwitting insults after apologizing yesterday."

"Sent them?" He asked. "I thought he was in his room still brooding." He replied as he sat down next to her on the chaise where she was reading. "And where is Ms Granger if he is sending flowers to you?"

"Hermione received white and pink roses in a deep purple vase that belonged to his mother." she replied. "Sirius told me that Harry arranged for them when in the muggle world yesterday and had them sent to Hermione via a muggle florist. Mine, he brought to me this morning."

"He said nothing about doing so at breakfast." Lucius said. "Though, Draco was with him and we both know that it takes a lot for our son to get out of bed before nine during the summer. They seemed to be speaking in code about something they had done while out with Sirius yesterday and I really didn't get the feeling it was about flowers."

"He requested permission to return to his relative's place for some reason. They were thick as thieves last night and whatever they are up to, they haven't spoken to anyone about. Not even Sirius who was a bit put out to be kept in the dark." Narcissa replied just as there was a soft knock on the door of the ladies study.

When Hermione entered, Narcissa looked at her husband and said "We have some planning to do for the dinner party. I spoke to Boudica and I am hosting it on the Thursday before the birthday parties that weekend. It will only be an assortment of our summer guests, along with Minerva McGonagall, Giselda Marchbanks, Augusta Longbottom and her grandson along with Boudica and Amelia Bones. We invited her niece but that young lady has other plans."

"If you need me to do anything, please let me know." He said and with a good morning, to Hermione looked at his pocket watch and went to the Ministry to attend the daily sessions. He had been rather sporadic in attending so as to not draw attention from Albus but Sirius was taking his seat and reclaiming the regency of the Potter seat today.

* * *

Molly was rushing around preparing for the possible arrival of Harry Potter at the Burrow. Dumbledore had written to them saying that the boy would be arriving but Sirius Black had denied it along with her sons. Ron and the twins had both been skeptical, Ron claiming that Harry had said he intended to spend as much time as possible with his godfather now that he had been cleared of all crimes. But just in case...

She heard the sound of footsteps and saw Percy coming down the stairs. "How are things at your new job, Percy?"

"Busy thanks to the World Quidditch Cup." He replied. "We caught several replica ticket scalpers and it turns out that they work for a syndicate. Plus, it turns out we need to provide a protection detail for the Bulgarian team's seeker, Victor Krum, I have been assigned to be the team's Ministry liaison as they prepare to come here."

They were both soon in the kitchen when the twins entered the house from the pitch while Ginny and Ron came downstairs and were soon settled at the breakfast table as Molly kept asking Percy about his new position. "It's just been very tiring. You won't believe some of the ways that the Quidditch groupies have tried to get access to Krum."

"Krum, Victor Krum?" Ron questioned his older brother looking excited by his brother's new job for the first time then he whined. "What do you know about Victor Krum, you don't even like Quidditch."

"We are providing his security detail while he is in London. He and the rest of the Bulgarian team arrived early and have been acclimating to the local weather. We have been dealing with the fan girls who had been desperate to throw themselves at him. Auror Tonks who was part of his detail had to break up a fight between two of them who managed to sneak into his room and they were apparently both naked and fighting over who was his biggest fan."

"Sounds like Krum has quite the _hard_ life." George said with a smirk after making sure his mom was on the other side of the kitchen to bring them back toast.

"Mum, where is Bill?" Ginny asked when she realized her older brother wasn't there.

"He was requested at Gringotts this morning. He also went to arrange for the portkey for Charlie so that he doesn't have to fly his broom all of the way home from Romania." Molly said and when she saw Percy still taking his time asked "What time do you have to be at the office, Percy?"

"Thanks to the overtime I worked last night while dealing with the scalpers, I don't have to be until noon unless there is another issue with the Krum situation, Mum." Percy replied as he struggled not to yawn. "Why did Dad go in already, I heard that Perkins and he were only working on audits right now."

"He had to speak to the Headmaster about something." Molly said trying to hide her worried expression from her children. Her husband had turned in the list of confiscated dark items and where they were now distributed and he had been ordered to a meeting with Amelia Bones and her staff that morning about it.

He had mentioned the night before that Madam Bones had expressed quite a bit of interest in why he would break Ministry protocol and hand over certain items to the Chief Warlock without having filed official paperwork. He had quietly admitted to his wife that he was expecting there to be trouble for him as a result of his misappropriation of certain items on the behalf of the Headmaster and she was rather worried about how they would be able to afford Hogwarts for the four remaining children.

* * *

Harry was in the kitchen having strained the oil infused with the illegal weed chemicals to make the brownies. Once done, he was using a store bought brownie mix, doubled and had the brownies baking in the over. Being extra careful to clean up his mess, he was rewashing the counter when he heard an odd popping sound.

Turning around, he saw the little house elf he had freed over a year ago standing in the kitchen, wringing his hands as he stared at Harry. "Dobby?"

"'ello 'arry Potter." The small creature said in a high toned voice. "Why is a great wizard like 'arry Potter staying with mean ex-master, Master 'arry."

"I am here to stay safe from my relatives Dobby." He said as he sat on one of the bar stools near the island and waited for the elf to move closer to him. "How are you Dobby. I heard what you did to catch the bad rat. Thank you."

"'Arry Potter's Miss Grangey helped." Dobby said with a grin on his face that faded as he looked around the room that had been the site of many of his worst memories. "Dobby must speak with 'arry Potter about old mister long gray whiskers."

"Old mister long...are you speaking about the headmaster, Dobby?" He asked.

"Old Mister Gray Whiskers has been asking Dobby to spy on Master 'arry but he isn't my master so I don't have to help him." Dobby announced. "He is bad man, taking things from Master 'arry's vaults and family 'omes."

"How do you know this, Dobby?" Harry asked. Sirius had told him that there were several very interesting items and books missing from the Potter estate and that the Goblins had reacquired most of them, minus his parent's portraits and the various child and heir monitoring objects that they had left in the Headmaster's office to keep him distracted until they were outed.

"Dobby knows these things because Dobby is a 'ouse elf." He replied.

"Dobby, do you know if you could locate the magical portraits of my parents? If you could, I will pay you." Harry offered, hoping the little house elf might have been luck than they had.

"I could tries, after all the Potter family magic is distinctive, I just have to tracks it, Master 'arry." The elf announced. "I's be going to look for your parent's portraits, Master 'Arry."

With that the elf disappeared and Harry kept an eye on the time so that he knew when to remove the brownies. The other problem he had was that Draco was very eager to spike his godfather and father with the 'special cigarettes but Harry was having second thoughts.

As it was he had already figured he would have to find a way to get Moony's wand away from him while the wizard was under the influence of the brownies. That was going to be difficult enough, but Snape and Lucius Malfoy? Removing their wands would be practically impossible.

* * *

Albus was a bit annoyed to have to visit Amelia Bones this morning. He had intended to pick up Harry at his aunt's house but there had been an urgent request for his presence and when he had heard that Mr. Croaker from the Department of Mysteries was going to be in attendance at said meeting, he had canceled his plans well aware that if Croaker was there, he should also.

Seeing Arthur Weasley and his co-worker Perkins in the conference room and the others gathered, he quietly greeted Kingsley Shacklebolt and and two other aurors who were chuckling as they shared a story about a security detail for the World Cup. Hearing the voice of Amelia Bones and her Head of the Auror Division, Rufus Scrimgeour, he saw them enter the room and then the doors were sealed.

"Madam Bones, was that really necessary?" Dumbledore asked, frowning because he had felt the magical suppression wards kick in and he didn't like how he had not been warned of such an event. Looking around at the others gathered, he couldn't find any reason for such an extreme action.

"I am afraid so." She replied and gestured for everyone to be seated. Dumbledore was even less happy when both of the seats of authority were filled by Amelia and Rufus, as part of Ministry tradition, he should have been offered one as he was the more senior official.

Soon seated on the side with only one chair, he saw that Kingsley had moved to stand near the door while the other two aurors took position behind Amelia. Across from him was Perkins and Arthur Weasley who wasn't looking at him.

"Shall we get started?" Madam Bones asked. Looking at Perkins, she inquired "I was given the list of items that your department has confiscated since the end of the war. Was the list given to me by Arthur Weasley complete?"

"Yes, to the best of my knowledge." He replied not looking at his co-worker, just the list in front of him.

Albus was rather curious as to what list they were talking about and one magically appeared in front of him. As he looked at the list, he frowned, a bit uneasy well aware that he had several of the items removed from their former owners for the greater good but he was sure that no one knew he was their current owner.

"I have looked at this list and was rather surprised to find that all of these items were now considered dark objects considering that a good portion of pureblood families on both sides of the political spectrum all possess said such items. May I ask why I wasn't informed that said such items were now considered dark?"

"Amelia, if I may intervene?" Albus stated. When she gave him a curt nod to continue, he said "It was my decision to declare such items as dark objects. Many of the families on this list should not be in possession of such items."

"Albus, if those items are now considered dark, then they should be been removed from all magical families, not just those who are in the opposition party. Of the items on the banned list, I personally own at least nine, two of which are displayed in my study." She said in an icy tone. "Arthur himself has a rather large clock in his kitchen at home that I have seen dozens of times with the same capabilities. We can't make separate laws for people just because you don't agree with their politics. I have already spoken to Cornelius and since this law never went to the floor of the Wizengamot, they cannot be banned."

When Albus went to speak, she held up her hand. "I am not finished reporting what was decided. Now, Unspeakable Croaker you have an opinion on this subject I was told."

"Yes, after looking at the list, the only object that I felt might be a danger to the muggles or be truly considered dark is the poisons that were collected from the vaults of the Zabini family. There was a time turner found but it was one created by the Black family and was never used after Thorton Black tested it to win his bet with another member of my department. In fact, the only use in the last ten years of a time turner was a young lady at Hogwarts something my department never approved of in spite of being required to." Albus saw the glare from Croaker and wanted to remind the mysterious wizard that he had no authority over the Headmaster's school.

"The books, well to be honest, I don't even understand why they were confiscated. The magic carpets are family heirlooms and we have never had a report of their being used as transportation, the monitoring devices are blood oriented, yes, but were created to monitor family members, primarily the heirs and that was grandfathered in under the last time the laws were proposed."

"As a result, we are removing said items that are in the Ministry vaults. The issue is that there is a rather long list if missing items and we refuse to be held responsible to their owners regarding said items." Croaker finished and sat back with a rather pleased expression on his face.

"Mr. Perkins, Mr. Weasley unless you would like to be held financially responsible for the replacement costs of said items you had twenty four hours to produce the missing items or face those costs and fines double that amount as stated by the bylaws of your department." Rufus said handing them the list of items and their approximate cost. "Such cost will be bore by both of you equally."

Perkins stood and pushed his chair back, clearly angry as he turned to Arthur Weasley and snapped. "You, you were the one who signed out each and every single one of these items. You claimed that they were logged in. I am not going down for your thievery."

"Mr. Perkins would you be willing to take veritiaserum to verify your innocence?" Rufus formally requested. The man quickly nodded yes and sat down to await being dosed.

Albus wanted to say something anything but his instincts were keeping him quiet, almost certain that Arthur Weasley would not be dosed, after all Perkins was only a half blood. No, there was no way that they would ever think of requesting that a pureblood wizard be dosed.

The man was quickly exonerated and when he was leaving, Albus pointed out that he was required to open the day's session of the Wizengamot in twenty minutes.

"We won't be that long, Albus." Madam Bones told him. "Arthur, what do you have to say for yourself? I know that you have money problems, but..."

"Albus?" Arthur looked at Dumbledore, waiting for him to save him as Amelia Bones went on and on about how he was to be fined and maybe jailed.

"I am certain that that isn't necessary, Amelia." Albus said trying to smooth things over. "To punish a man for misplacing these items."

"Albus, we are talking over a hundred books, over forty-five items including several which are priceless. It would have been impossible for him to lose them. If he wants to offer another reason for said items to be missing other than theft, he must speak up now." Amelia said not really wanting to throw Arthur in jail but she would if he didn't tell the truth.

There was a gong to announce that the Wizengamot session would start in five minutes and Albus stood announcing that it would be best to table this discussion for now as he headed towards the door. He left without a backward glance just as Amelia had expected him to do. Looking at Kingsley, she said "Please inform the Minister that I will delayed."

When the senior auror had left, she looked at Arthur Weasley who was sitting there looking at the list with a horrified expression on his face and said "Arthur, I am waiting for an answer. Do you have an alternative explanation other than you stole these items?"

"Albus said that the discussion was tabled, I would prefer to wait until he is present to continue." Arthur said feeling desperate to wait, almost certain that the Headmaster would have found a way for him to escape trouble.

"I am sure you would prefer it but his presence today was only a courtesy. He has no authority over my department. Arthur, I will have an answer from you before you leave this room or you will be locked up in Azkaban as a thief." She said. "Arthur, please don't make me do this. Simply tell us the truth."

When he still just sat there, Rufus who knew that his boss knew the whole story decided to see if he could coax the truth from Arthur by saying. "How about I get the story started. The Headmaster declared a long list of items dark objects within weeks of Harry Potter defeating You-Know-Who. Am I correct, Arthur?"

"Yes." He answered.

"You were already promoted weeks before to your present position by former Minister Baghold, correct?" Rufus asked.

"Yes." Arthur answered.

"You were given a list of houses to search for dark objects. Most were family homes of suspected Death Eaters, correct?" Rufus asked as he began to lead Arthur to where he wanted him to go.

"Yes."

"Some weren't suspected though, correct, at least not officially though they were on the Headmaster's possible list." Rufus asked

Arthur hesitated this time before saying yes so Rufus went back to lobbing easy questions again.

"You arranged the raids, correct?"

"Yes." Arthur answered feeling relieved they had moved away from the Headmaster and his connection to the raids.

"The first raid was on the now empty Lestrange house, correct?" Rufus asked looking at his notes.

"Yes, the day after they had attacked the Longbottoms." Arthur answered.

Rufus continued at the same pace, knowing he was getting closer as Arthur answered with more than one word.

"Avery, Rookwood, Dolonov, those were next?" He asked.

"Yes, we also searched the Carrows' house and two others but Narcissa Malfoy refused us entrance at Malfoy manor and Sirius Black's great uncle refused to allow us to search his estate, though that one wasn't on the Headmaster's list." Arthur replied.

"Why did you search it then?" Rufus asked knowing his boss would want to know.

"I just added it to the list, after all at the time he was thought to have betrayed the Potters." Arthur said and then as if compelled, Arthur defended the Headmaster by saying "Dumbledore was angry with me for that one. He said that there was nothing to be gained by searching any of the Black properties as he had already personally searched Sirius Black's safe house and had found nothing."

Amelia was considering throwing her arms around her Head Aurors neck and giving him a great big kiss as he got something they had suspected since finding out the truth about Black. Within the next few questions, Arthur was relaxed and answering questions, almost completely unaware that he was telling them more than the Headmaster would wish them to know.

Rufus was throwing now frequently switching from easy questions to ones that were gaining them the answers they needed until it was time for the big one. "Arthur, why did Albus want those books he had you confiscate?"

"He said they were needed to be removed from the general population for the greater good." Arthur said before looking at the list and then saying "Though, several of them didn't contain spells they were mainly history books and a few were books published in North America covering the war with Grindelwald."

"The monitoring devices? Did Albus want them to monitor the heirs of the families when they were attending Hogwarts. Is there an issue with the school wards. Have they grown weak is that why he needs the devices to protect the students?" Rufus knew it wasn't the reason but still pushed that idea and it worked.

"No, though they are in his office. I don't know who they are monitoring but it is only one person. I am not sure who though." Arthur replied. "He once again said that it was for the Greater good."

"What about the remaining missing objects?" Rufus asked holding his breath, not sure that they would get everything from the man.

"Albus would look at the list of confiscated objects, he was looking for something. Some sort of stone, I think." Arthur replied. "He never told me exactly what."

"Thank you for your honesty Arthur." Amelia said as she looked at the man who had just realized how much information he had given away. "Don't worry, you won't be arrested. However, you are now forbidden to go on raids of any homes. You will be facing discipline for your actions as you know that you are required to file paperwork for any objects you remove from homes."

"Arthur, you should know, if anyone wanted your job, you would probably be fired." She stated looking into the eyes of the clearly ashamed man. "As it is, well Perkins has requested a transfer and it has been granted. You might have destroyed any small chance for promotion you might have had."

"Thank you." Arthur said as he left the conference room and went back to his office. He silently watched as his former co-worker continued to pack up his office. "Perkins, I am sorry."

The other man looked at Arthur and said "I warned you about what you were doing ten years ago. Now look at what it has cost you."

Arthur sat down on his desk chair and looked around the now plain room, buried his head in his hands and cried in relief at still having a job and having escaped Azkaban. Once finished, he wiped his face, accepted the incoming memo with the list of the disciplinary measures and went home to speak to his wife.

* * *

Harry was letting the brownies cool and trying to come up with a way to get a hold of Moony's wand when he heard the sound of Snape and Sirius sniping at one another as they walked down the hallway towards the back gardens where he was supposed to be meeting them in fifteen minutes to practice his defense moves.

He found himself laughing as he heard dogfather teasing Snape about Amelia Bones and the taller man's scathing reply about Black sounding as crazy as his cousin Bellatrix. He himself wondered about the amount of attention the woman in charge of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement seemed to pay to the ex-Death Eater when they were in the same room.

Harry was also rather curious as to how the morning session of the Wizengamot had gone since his godfather was taking his seat for the first time and he had intended on staying for sessions the entire day. Remus was supposed to be his tutor that day but had sent a note that he was detained by something.

Placing the brownies in the magical equivalent of a refrigerator, Harry doubled checked the kitchen and grabbing his wand hurried to join two of his godfathers in his favorite subject. It was midway through the lesson when he heard the sound of Draco being smart mouthed with his godfather when the way to get a hold of Remus' wand came to  
him.

Turning, he watched as Draco threw another hex at Severus and soon had his wand removed by the wizard. The blond was sputtering as he landed on his rear and sat there glaring at Snape. Harry's own distraction at their interaction soon had his own wand in the hands of Sirius so he held up his arms and said "I surrender."

"Good, now you will write a report of no less than five feet as to why it is more important to pay attention to your own duel and ignore all distracts." Sirius replied while reaching over to mess up his hair. Resting his arm heavily on Harry's shoulder as they walked over to where the other two were now drinking lemonade, he asked "So have you decided on what form your prank against Remus will take?"

"Who says I intend to prank anyone?" Harry said being careful to keep his eyes on the other two.

"Oh, a little birdy overheard you threatening revenge." Sirius replied with a smirk on his face when they were seated. Pouring them both ice cold glasses of the tart lemonade, he added "Speaking of revenge, did anyone hear what happened to Rita Skeeter?"

"Father told Harry and I at breakfast." Draco said with sneer that reminded Harry of how he acted during the school year. "Who would bother to lower themselves to attack someone already locked in a jail cell. I mean no one from Slytherin would ever sink that low. Do we even know this Umbridge woman?"

Severus looked at Draco and said "I would have thought you would have learned by now, Draco. A Slytherin would have attacked, they would have just been careful not to get caught. As for Delores Umbridge, unfortunately she was a Hufflepuff. She was one of those who didn't fit into any of the houses and ended up there by default."

Once they had ended their afternoon tutoring session, the two wizards went to speak to Lucius who had stayed for the afternoon session and had immediately went to his office when he had returned. Harry meanwhile had suggested to Draco that they go pick up the ingredients for more brownies as he explained his plan to the blond wizard.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was annoyed He had had a long morning session of the Wizengamot, during which he had lost control of the Potter votes and Sirius Black had claimed the family seat. It wasn't Sirius who had suggested claiming the Potter seats. No it had been that damn annoying pompous idiot Greengrass who had pointed out that during the session that had freed Black he was to be Potter's guardian which meany by law, Sirius had to file a claim stating he would protect Potter's interests along with his own until the boy was an adult.

There had been a ground swell of reminders and best wishes; before Dumbledore had been able to prevent it, Sirius had taken the magical vow and he had felt the control of the three Potter seats leaving him and their magic surround the younger wizard.

The only pleasure he had taken from the situation had been the rather acidic back and forth between Lucius Malfoy and Sirius regarding how Sirius had only seven business days to go over past votes and decide if young Potter would want any of them altered. Sirius had stared down the smarmy Frenchie and then had sat down, completely ignoring him.

After listening to the normal minutiae, believing that Diggory would have gotten his point not to bring up his new bill regarding lessening of blood law restrictions, Albus had called upon the other man who had stated that he was intending to put forth a bill to restrict unpotioned werewolves to a preserve now that they had access to wolfsbane potion.

There was to be a new registry during which they would be tested for Lycanthropy and if they chose not to be healed of their disease, they would be moved to a preserve. That bill had heard a few grumbles but had passed with only Sirius Black and few others with complaints about being fiscally conservative since there was no cure to Lycanthropy.

He had seen an odd meeting of the eyes between Nott, McMillan and Malfoy that had given Albus a chill down his spine before they had moved on to the next bill on their agenda. After lunch when a clearly angry Sirius Black hadn't returned and Albus had made a comment to Augusta Longbottom about how if Sirius hadn't matured maybe they shouldn't have turned the Potter votes over to him, he had asked for any new business.

Diggory had stayed seated and so had most of the dark faction when to Albus' surprise, Amelia Bones had came to the floor and announced the return of what she had termed items taken in overzealous raids as the result of overwhelming paranoia. He had listened as she announced that there were over a hundred items missing from the vaults and that if those items were returned immediately no one would be arrested for theft. That if by the end of the weeks grace period said items weren't returned, and they were to be found in possession of anyone other than their true owners, that witch or wizard would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Dismissing any concern for the items in his possession, because after all as he had been acting within the rights of his position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore had quickly moved on after she had stated that by the end of the next week said items would be returned to their true owners.

"I request the floor, Chief Warlock." Dumbledore looked over in surprise at sight of Bill Weasley standing next to the Department Head of Goblin relations. "Oh behalf of my employer."

"Request granted." Dumbledore announced rather curious as to what the Goblins were wanting.

The tall red head turned to the members and announced. "An anonymous member of the Wizarding community has approached my employers to hire me to research an obscure branch of magic due to a recent breakthrough regarding lycanthropy."

There were a few murmurs in the crowd and Albus settled down wondering what sort of breakthrough they were talking about. Bill turned to the pureblood members who were seated nearby in the section opposite the Chief Warlock and announced. "We have found a potential cure for this disease."

There was a sudden uproar in the Wizengamot, the upper balcony and even the press had leaned forward to listen to the young curse breaker who stated "It is a trade secret, the actual formula, but it has proven successful."

An older wizard whose family had had issues with Greyback and who many thought had a child inflicted with the disease stood up and asked "How can you be sure?"

"Remus Lupin, a wizard who was bitten as a child was the first werewolf to be given the formula. He had no side effects and on the last full moon, took the second portion of the cure which a the standard wolfsbane potion. He spent the night observed by others and he never turned into a werewolf, because he is trained as a animagus though, he did turn into a simple timber wolf."

The murmurs grew and Bill waited a few minutes while on the dais, Albus frowned, upset that Lupin hadn't informed him of his plan to take this supposed cure. He would have tried to talk him out of it, there was a war coming and without Lupin he would loose an connection to the werewolves.

"Is he dangerous?" Augusta Longbottom asked as prompted.

"No." Unspeakable Croaker who had been sitting quietly waiting for this moment stood and moved to stand next to the young curse breaker. "We ran all tests we have that show up the lycanthropy disease, he tested completely clean. So clean in fact that his name was immediately removed from the werewolf watch list."

Once again there were more murmurs and then Croaker began to speak again. "Wizards and Witches of this great nation, we have the chance to be the leading light in solving this dreaded curse. We have the know how, we have the capacity to solve the problem. I will say that there is one small problem with this cure but for the majority of the werewolves in this country it won't be an issue."

"Even if they don't want the cure, we must insist. Force them if we have to." Someone in the balcony shouted.

Croaker held up his hand for quiet and began to speak. "That is unfortunately the main issue. Remus Lupin wanted the cure, when he was given it, he was unaware of what it would do, but it was well known that he loathed what he became so he was chosen as the test subject."

Croaker knew he was exaggerating and that Lupin hadn't been even aware that he was being cured, but as Hytooth had pointed out, at the time he had only had a hunch that it would work. "He was able to be cured because he no longer wanted to be a werewolf, had never wanted to be one. The other part of the cure, the first dose requires several very rare and expensive ingredients. Ingredients that other countries would find hard to produce but that we happen to have."

"What are they?"

"Basilisk venom, phoenix tears and a base agent of wizard blood." There were murmurs again while Albus froze as he realized that this was the reason that Amos Diggory had wanted the lessening of blood magic restrictions.

When Albus stood and tried to point out that that blood magic was against British Wizarding rules, Bill Weasley moved forward and announced. "Yes it is, Chief Warlock. It is against wizarding rules, but not Goblin rules. As the Wizengamot refuses to lessens the blood magic restrictions, the Goblins have agreed to step up and be the ones to take the lead and the galleons that will flow in from around the world."

There was a lot of grumbling at that announcement and Albus was on the losing end of the arguments as within ten minutes, Nott had come forward and suggested a bill lessening the restrictions on blood magic for medical use and medical use only. Before Albus could insist on tabling the subject, the vote was taken and only five Wizengamot members voted against the new bill that quickly became a law.

Albus was hiding his anger as he closed that days session of the Wizengamot and left for the Figg house. He might have lost the battle but that didn't he would lose the war. He was well aware that he had possession of the only phoenix in Britain and as for basilisk venom, he might not be able to stop them from harvesting the snake that that idiot Weasley girl had told her brother about, but he could stop them from getting access to the only person on earth who could open the Chamber of Secrets.

He was going to retrieve Harry and take him to a safe house which he would then put under a Fidelius Charm until such a time as he could find a way to deny those who wanted to access the chamber. He would tell everyone that Harry had ran away from his relative's house. Yes, that would do. Make them think that Harry was gone until he could get this idiotic ruling overturned.

Frowning when he saw no evidence of Mrs. Figg or any of her cats, he removed the soot that covered him from arriving by the floor and exited through the strangely quiet house and walked down towards the house at number four Privet Drive.

Not feeling the wards, he quickened his pace until he was knocking on the front door. Looking around, surprised to see that he was being observed, he continued knocking, still not getting any answer.

After several minutes, the middle aged mugged watching him walked over and said "Are you looking for the Dursleys?"

"Yes, more specifically their nephew Harry." He replied.

Frowning, she said "Well you missed the scandal then. Ole Vernon and his nasty sister were arrested for treason about a month ago. The Police came and searched the house and found evidence that they were abusing that nephew of hers. The stories she told us to cover up for their abuse."

She was tsking and shaking her head but all Albus wanted to do was shake her until she told him everything. "Anyhow, their son, well he was about to end up in the foster care system when some of the children in the neighborhood began confessing to their parents about his friends and him abusing them. Now he is in a juvenile facility. Petunia was arrested for the abuse of the nephew who no one has seen since though that crazy Figg lady claimed she saw him a few days ago with a boy she claimed looked like her Prince Charming. Anyhow, she was batty from the day she moved here and several of the neighbors complained and she was hauled off for a mental health examination by the constable."

Albus didn't bother with asking questions, he just looked into her mind for any information about Harry and was feeling ill when he saw that she believed he was dead and that the police did as well. Walking away, without another word, Albus went to Arabella Figg's house and apparated straight to Hogwarts.

Entering the gates, he hurried to his office and saw that the monitoring devices, including those tied to the wards on Privet Drive were still spinning. Soon seated in his chair, he checked them for unknown wizarding magic but he found nothing.

"Where are you Harry and why don't I know where you are?" He asked as he stared at Fawkes who had been acting strange for days. Grabbing a quill and writing a note to the boy, he tied it to the phoenix's claws and sent it on it's way.

Instead of flashing out of his office like it normally did, Fawkes flew out the window and circled the castle towers for flying back in through the window and settling onto his perch. "Find Harry Potter."

The phoenix flashed but instead of exiting the tower office, the red bird just settled in for a nap on it's perch, the note still attached to it's claw. Albus was feeling a huge sense of unease as he sat on his office wondering what else could go wrong with his summer.

The tournament was canceled and there seemed to be no reviving it.

Sirius Black was found innocent and was now holding the Potter seats on the Wizengamot.

Remus Lupin had taken this supposed cure for Lycanthropy without speaking to him first.

One of Harry's closest friends was now connected in ways that were very uncomfortable for the Headmaster with the MALFOY family of all people which is the last thing he wanted.

Plus, he was finding that someone seemed to be in the know about several things he didn't want known just yet. Things that if they were known might not look so good, what no one seemed to realize was that he was the only person who saw the bigger picture, the only person who understood that things has to happen the way they were because of the Greater Good.

TBC

A/N: I had no idea how long this chapter was, so this is just the first half. next you get the special brownies and the Vesta meets again.


	14. Future Mrs Remus Lupin

A/N: We just returned from Vacation, so I should be posting chapters more frequently.

Chapter Fourteen

Amelia Bones was seated in the stone room awaiting the company of her fellow Vesta members as she read the report she had been given by Croaker on the various items confiscated by the Headmaster. She had already finished the part of the report that covered the books he had banned and had removed from magical homes.

Hearing Augusta Longbottom reprimanding Griselda Marchbanks, she closed the paperwork and stood to greet the two women entering the temple. Noticing that several other members had already been seated including Boudacia Pomfrey, she waited until Minerva McGonagall had joined them before beginning the meeting.

After the standard opening procedures had been completed, she looked over at Minerva and asked "Are you satisfied with how things are working out for your young lions?"

The professor admitted "Yes. While at first I wasn't thrilled that you involved the Malfoy family, I have to admit that it has proven fortuitous."

"She has done wonders with the Granger girl." the harsh sounding voice of Griselda Marchbanks stated. "It's being subtly done but that young woman has slowly been learning the customs and traditions of our world."

"I have to agree. I have approached them several times while they have been in Diagon Alley preparing for this dinner party and have spoken to Narcissa herself and I have to say the changes are going both ways. I feel my suggestion of having her cook the meal itself was inspired especially since it allowed the young lady to show off the muggle world skills she has."

Boudacia chuckled at that comment and turned to her contemporary and said "In truth, it is the Potter boy who is doing the teaching. Ms. Granger has absolutely no cooking skills of her own."

"Oh dear."

"It has worked out fine even if I would given any thing to be able to sell tickets to those particular lessons." Minerva replied with a smirk on her lips. "We would have enough funds to buy new brooms for all of Hogwarts if we did."

"Would you care to share?" Another of the eager elderly women asked.

"I am not sure of the how, but in the first three lessons, Narcissa managed to insist that it was more than Vesta Apprentice Granger and herself learn to cook. I do believe that her son Draco, her cousin Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and both her husband and Severus Snape attend." Minerva said as off-handed as she could while trying not to laugh at the mental image.

"Severus Snape was there?" Marchbanks asked in her deep raspy tone while laughing. "Potter was in charge? I have heard that those two get along like oil and water."

"According to Severus, he was quite impressed with Harry's skills not only as a cook but as a teacher." Minerva confessed with a wry grin on her face. "Remus Lupin admitted that the lessons were rather enjoyable even without the side bets regarding who would first set something on fire. It has been going to well that Vesta Accolade Narcissa requested and got permission to move her small dinner party up a few days."

"Who shall be attending?" Marchbanks asked hiding how eager she was to be one of the invited guests.

"I will be making that decision this week." Amelia replied. "All of you should be aware that Molly Weasley has not fulfilled her own requirements just yet but that she has been working towards the finish at a steady pace. Her family requirement of teaching manners to her sons has proven a bit difficult but I feel that given time, things will move in the right direction."

"What about the home and hearth requirement?" Pomfrey asked. She wasn't fond of the Weasley woman as a result of the error made in the woman's youth and she wasn't sure that time had smoothed out the Prewett woman's rough edges but for the sake of her Vesta Oath she would give her an equal chance to join their organization.

"With her having more time due to joining the general membership and not the council she has no time requirement and we have only assigned her one task at a time."

"Regarding her family." Amelia shook her head in disgust and then said "Arthur Weasley is going to be facing difficulties at work as a result of his errors in helping Albus. Minerva, you should know, the Daily Prophet and surprisingly the Quibbler will be running articles regarding the illegal confiscating of objects and a list of those who were wrongly raided. Arthur is going to be given a lateral transfer within the Ministry by Fudge and we will be sliding his duties into my department."

Seeing the blank expression on Minerva's face, she sighed and added "He will probably have trouble making the tuition for all of his children this year."

"We have a fund that will cover that." She said with a nod. "The rules require certain grades and for the most part, the twins and Ginevra will be fine. Ronald Weasley however might be rather unhappy when he finds out the requirement that forces him to keep his grades up."

"As long as they have a chance at continuing their education." Marchbanks replied. "How serious is this issue, Amelia?"

"Very." She answered. "Some pureblood families might even see what happened as personal attacks on their beliefs and I can't find that I disagree with that. The houses that were searched were considered potential death eaters at one point but once they were found not guilty by Wizarding law, no matter how much we might disagree with that position, they should have been afforded the same protections as other magical families."

"In other worlds, Albus declared them guilty and ignored their rights." Augusta announced.

"It wasn't only followers of Voldemort he targeted, it was neutral families as well. He had books removed, declared them dark objects but when I had some of my staff and I looking through the copies of these books in the Department of Mysteries, we found a very common theme in them."

When she saw that all of the council was paying attention, Amelia passed them copies of the report. "Every single book on the banned list that wasn't filled with potions or charms that use blood magic, contained a more stringent view regarding not pureblood dogma but a more worldly view regarding the war with Grindelwald and let's just say that Albus doesn't come out looking very heroic. Same thing with the books regarding Voldemort and his past at Hogwarts as Head Boy Tom Riddle Junior."

There were some sneers as some of the elder witches who could recall a time when the magical world hadn't revered Albus Dumbledore. They were well aware that this was a man who wasn't as noble and self sacrificing as he seemed.

"What about the monitoring devices I told you about?" Minerva asked.

"Croaker believes that those that Albus has in his office might not be able to returned to their original families because the family magics inherent to their use was more than likely diverted to monitor Harry Potter." Amelia said. "After Harry's birthday, once he is safe from any interference regarding his living conditions, I intend to stage a raid of my own on Hogwarts. I find the way that that man monitored Mr. Potter to be decidedly ominous and morally reprehensible even without adding the abuse he suffered to the mix."

"Let me know in advance so I can find a perfectly acceptable reason to be at the castle that day." Augusta stated while quietly chuckling. "I heard from Neville that Harry's godfathers are searching for the portraits of his parents and that Albus had had them removed from the Potter Keep against all pureblood tradition."

"I know from speaking to Severus Snape that they have searched every single residence that belongs to the family, even a piece of property belonging to Lily's muggle parents but so far no luck. He did say that there were two muggle paintings that were destroyed by that sister of Lily's but that they weren't the ones they are looking for according to the master list of Potter family heirlooms."

"I am rather surprised that with all of Lucius Malfoy's adeptness at skulduggery, he hasn't located them yet." Marchbanks stated while frowning.

As the council moved on towards it's plans to bring the magical world kicking and screaming into a new golden age, Amelia Bones was looking at the sun noticing it was almost noon and was reminded of the request of her youngest age who wanted to escort her family to visit her Aunt Bellatrix at Azkaban.

* * *

"Narcissa, this is my daughter, Nmyphadora." Andromeda stated as she introduced her daughter to her sister. When she saw her only child wince at the sound of her first name, she looked at the young adult and then at her sister and said "She is rather unhappy about her name, in spite of knowing that I chose it especially for her."

Narcissa looked at the pink haired pretty young auror who at the moment resembled her mother and with a smile said "It's a family tradition, my dear."

"Yes, but she could have chosen a less complicated name sort of like you did." Tonks replied as she greeted her aunt for the first time. "Draco, your son's name isn't embarrassing."

"Not to you, but there are times when Draco has complained." She admitted. "Lucius came to appreciate the name choice very quickly, of course he wouldn't admit it at the time. Draco was not a baby who understood the concept of human beings needing sleep and he often would wake up in the middle of the night and demand our attention at full roar."

"I would have believed you would have the house elves deal with the late night feedings and mischief." Andromeda stated as she tried to imagine her very proper sister taking care of midnight feedings.

Shaking her head, Narcissa said "Lucius was fascinated with our son from the moment he was born. He even changed diapers before I did. Thankfully, magic is rather handy for that particular task."

"Lucius Malfoy dealing with dirty diapers... it just doesn't seem to fit with his public image." Tonks said with a large smirk on her face at the mental image her aunt had created of the stuff shirt Lucius Malfoy dealing with baby diarrhea.

"No, it doesn't, does it but as a Black by blood you must be aware that public perception is rarely in tune with reality." Narcissa said before adding "We even considered adoption later on when we found out we couldn't have more children. It's one of our regrets, not having a larger family."

Andromeda called out to let her husband know they were leaving and then they exited the snug cottage near Richmond and apparated close to the island on which Azkaban prison rested. Looking around for the boat man, they were quickly told it would be about a half hour.

"They have been busy ferrying supplies over this morning." With that, Tonks guided her mother and aunt towards a nearby magical cafe and they were seated drinking tea and biscuits when her aunt invited her family over for an upcoming dinner.

"It's part of my initiate tasks to cook a meal." Narcissa told her sister and then filled her in on how things were going in that part of her labors. "Sirius will also be attending along with several others you know."

When the boat returned and had taken them over to the island that felt oppressive as a result of the lack of sunlight and the bleak feeling of doom, Narcissa shivered as she thought about how close her husband had come to being sentence to prison as a result of his past.

The warden himself came down to escort the three women to the cell block that contained Bellatrix Lestrange. He had taken a basically superficial look through the basket that Auror Tonks was carrying when they had walked down the stone steps and were at the beginning of a corridor that reeked of insanity. "You have an hour, if you need that long. We have sequestered the dementors but you should know that most of the inmates on this block are some of the most dangerous supporters of You-Know-Who."

"This is where Sirius Black escaped from?" Tonks asked in total disbelief as she looked around the prison block. She could not imagine the strength of will he had had to had to do what he had done. Even without the dementors she found herself feeling depressed after only five minutes.

"Yes." The short stubby looking warden tersely answered. "Now that we are aware of how it was possible for him to do so, we have wards that prevent animagus transformations taking place."

With that, he pointed down the corridor and said "Lestrange is five cells down on the right, we have moved her husband and brother-in-law out of hearing range due to how they would often call out to one another."

The warden left and the trio continued down the hallway, most of the prisoners they passed, watching without comment, looking like they had given up all hope. Arriving at Bellatrix's cell, sickened at the thought of what they had expected to see, all were surprised when they heard a high pitched giggle and then a cold voice saying "Hello Cissy, I see you have turned blood traitor. Father should have killed you while he had the chance, you and that traitorous bastard you rutted with."

The aristocratic blond sat the woven basket on the cold gray stone and looked at her sister and ignoring her words simply said. "Bella." Her sister looked terrible, her hair looking like it hadn't seen a hair brush in years, the pupils in her eyes were dilated and she was thinner than she had been even as a teenager. She was wearing prison garb that was torn to pieces.

Bellatrix was now looking at her middle sister, the one closest to her in age and sneered as she said "Well, well if it isn't Andromeda No-Name."

"I have a name, Bella. It's Mrs. Theodore Tonks, a name I am very honored to bear." Andi said in as serene tone as she could as she took in the fact that her eldest sister's level of insanity was complete. "How are you?"

"Just fine, in fact, just yesterday I had tea with Merlin, Salazar Slytherin and mother." Bella replied in a mocking tone before saying. "How the bloody do you think I am, locked up in this miserable excuse for a prison? Now what do you want? Why are the two of you together and why have you brought an auror with you? So auror, has the day finally came, has that blood traitor bitch Madam Longbottom's request been sanctioned, Am I being sent through the veil and this some sort of..."

Bella's shrill laughter echoed through the hallway as she looked at her two sisters before sneering. "If this is some sort of boon for the walking dead, skip it, just get it over with. These two mean nothing to me."

"Bella, this is my daughter." Andi said staring at her sister, her past memories of a childhood fraught with danger and tension, of a time when this woman had once protected her from their father's temper and their mother's very blatant public affairs.

"An auror? I thought we could fall no further than when that bastard of a cousin of mine joined up." Bella stated as she disdainfully looked at Tonks before looking back at her sisters who were standing next to one another. "Why are you here?"

"I am a Vesta Accolade." Narcissa finally said. "Something in me, in spite of everything you did and tried to do to me, felt I owed it to our great aunt to tell you." Narcissa had decided to start off with the easy stuff.

"Well, now you have done what you came to do, so get the hell out of here." A now subdued Bella said, turning her back to them and walking to the other side of her cell and staring out the small window several feet about her. When she didn't hear footsteps, she turned and saw that they were still there and said "What, are you waiting for me to congratulate you? Not going to happen."

"I just want to know... why?" Narcissa asked as if the words had been torn from her. "Why would you help them do what they were going to do to me? I thought in spite of everything, you at least loved us."

The shrill laughter was back and then Bella curled her lower lip and then replied. "Love? You of all people should know that Black's don't love anyone but themselves, Cissy. As for why? Why not? My master needed to access the Black vaults, I had a way of providing him with his greatest desire. You, you were a means to an end. It's not like you had any of there worth to anyone."

Andi stared at her convict of a sister and took a deeper look as she realized that the insanity on the surface was covering up something underneath. "No, it had to be more than that. What are you hiding, Bella? What was the real purpose for the ritual that was to be done that night?"

Bellatrix let out another shrill screech that was half laughter and half pain as she turned around to face them and said "It was about power, nothing less. I would have been freed of that bastard I was married to and would have been united with the love of my life if we had succeeded. You, you stole that from me, for what? Marriage to a rich man and a French title that is of no use in OUR world? What right did you have to do that, Cissy?"

"I would have died, Bella." The blond shouted back at her sister. "How does your wants matter more than my life?"

Bella shrugged as it to say so what, before deciding to destroy the sister she had once loved more than life itself until she had uncovered their mother's deepest secret from her master. "It matters because I am a pureblood, and you, you are a mongrel. Nothing more than a half blood created when our mother rutted with a muggle she found oh so fascinating. I couldn't believe it when I found out the truth she had kept hidden for so long."

Narcissa stumbled back against the cold stone as her sister's words washed over her only to hear Andromeda's daughter let out a slightly choked laugh before the girl said "Nice try, Auntie but it isn't true."

When Bellatrix just raised her eye brow as if to say really, which was the most sane moment she had had since they arrived, the girl with the bright pink hair said to the stunned blond. "When I was training as an auror, Alastor Moody told me that lying about a child's blood status to a follower to control them was a nasty little trick of her former master's. He would watch as they killed their child and sometime their supposedly traitorous wife, looking rather gleeful about it. It was never true, however. It was simply a ploy to destroy anything that the bastard felt his followers loved more than him."

Narcissa turned to Bellatrix to speak only to see her sister Andi was rather close to the iron bars separating them from Bellatrix with her hand grasping a wand. She seemed to be staring at Bellatrix as if looking for answers to unspoken questions. Andi then nodded and smirked at Bellatrix before backing away and moving to stand next to Narcissa. "You aren't going to get any answers from her, Narcissa. She is too far gone. Let's just give her the package and go."

Dora took out the small package, returned it to full size and then after a moment's hesitation spelled it into Bellatrix's cell. With that, she looked at her aunt, shivered at the insanity she saw in her eyes and was about to led them out of the dark and dank cells.

"No, we have to make one more visit." Her mother insisted and led the way down the stone path, peering into cells until she found the one she was looking for. Finding Rebastan Lestrange, she looked at the man she had avoided being forced to marry and staying silent, looked into his eyes and using the Legilimency spell tried to find answers to questions her sister needed to know.

Grimacing at the darkness contained within and how once he figured out what she was doing, how he lowered his mental shield, she found them at least as much as the imprisoned Death Eater knew and then pulled out of his mind.

Removing the second package, she handed it over without a word and then reaching out, squeezed Narcissa's hand and said "I will explain once we all leave this place."

"Meda..." The hoarse sounding voice called out her name and when she turned to look at the thin quiet man, he asked "Did you love him or was it all about escaping marriage to me?"

She smiled at the man and said "I loved him and still do. I am sorry that I hurt you how I did, Rebastan but you would have never made me happy because I could have never lived the lie you needed."

The man nodded at her and then looking down at the package now in his cell asked. "The Longbottoms? The boy? Was I able to save him?"

Andi saw her daughter tense up and placing her hand on Dora's forearm said "I heard about that from Moody. Yes, you did. Bellatrix didn't kill him."

"Thank you." With that, he watched them walk away and then retreated to a corner of his cell and sank down against the wall and let his mind travel to the past and a time when he had believed all was possible.

In the boat, Andi kept a tight grip on Narcissa's hand, knowing how her sister was using all of her well honed social polish to appear fine, while her daughter was staring at her like she had never seen her before.

When they had exited the boat, instead of apparating home, Andi looked at her daughter and sister before saying. "We need to talk, privately."

"Where?" Narcissa asked looking drained.

"Do you remember the waterfall we used to play near as children?" Andi asked. When the blond nodded, she said "I will bring Dora."

Once seated on the sun heated stones near the waterfall, Andi tilted her head back so that the sunlight would help remind her that today was much better than the past had been. When she heard Narcissa call out for a house elf, she watched bemused as Narcissa asked Tally for a few wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.

Once the house elf had returned with said request and some food, she gave her a note for Lucius before looking at her sister and niece. When they each had a drink and food, she looked at Andi who said. "First let me explain about Rabastan."

With a sigh and a sip of her elf wine, she said "Rodulphus was unable to father children. Bella and he didn't find out until after they were married which since that was the only reason she agreed to the marriage, she felt betrayed. So their father decided to approach our own father about marriage to me. Do you remember how quiet Rabastan was, how he followed his brother's directions but never really lead?"

Narcissa nodded in agreement while Tonks just took in everything her mother was telling her.

"Well it seems that Rabastan was frequently tormented by his family for his smaller stature and his interest in books and learning. I would often see him in the library at Hogwarts and would on occasion sit with him since at the time, I was still close to Bella." What Andi left out was at the time, Bella was still sane.

Andi took a deep breath and then said "I found out a secret, a big one from him. It seems as if Rabastan had a huge crush on someone, that after a time had him believing he was in love with this person. This person loved someone else, but Rabastan didn't care because oddly enough, he wanted this person to be happy since he knew he, himself would never make them happy."

Narcissa tried to recall the various girls that attended Hogwarts at the that time, but most of the older students had been forgotten over time if she had even known them in the first place. "Let me guess, a muggleborn?"

"No, a pureblood." Andi said with a frown. "When I found out the truth, he begged me to stay quiet, because if his family knew, they would harm this person."

Tonks wasn't an auror for no reason, she was listening to her mother speak and then it hit her. She was using gender neutral pronouns for a reason. "It wasn't a she, was it?"

"No." Andi replied.

"Oh my." Narcissa recalled the rules on the line of succession for the Lestrange family and said "He had to marry a female, for the family magic, didn't he?"

"Yes." Andi said "When he found out that his father had agreed to a betrothal contract between us, he was happy because I knew his secret and he figured that like all well brought up pureblood witches I would ignore it. The thing was, I was already in love with Ted and had no intention of marrying him. We fought about it the night I eloped with Ted."

"He knew?" Narcissa asked sounding surprised.

"He helped." Andi replied to the shock of the other two. Nodding when she looked them each in the eyes, she said "I understand he put on quite the performance that night. It was done to help delay the search for me."

"I don't know what to say." Tonks said, her mind on the file she had read regarding the vicious death eater.

"As time passed, he fell deeper and deeper into the dark arts, I married and had you, my dear." Andi told her daughter. "We lost touch until one day he saw me in Diagon Alley, there was an attack underway and he protected you and me. It was almost at the end of the war and after the danger had passed, he saw the newspaper on the dining room table. It had an article about the Longbottom family and their newborn son, Neville."

"Why would he care?" Dora asked.

"Frank, it was Frank Longbottom he was interested in." Narcissa said piecing together all of the pieces.

"Yes, Frank Longbottom who had no idea that a simple moment when he helped Rabastan pick up his books in the library during the younger wizard's fourth year would have any such effect." Andi replied. "Rabastan was three years older, he knew even then that Frank was attracted to his future wife Alice. He was able to avoid all contact until our sister went insane."

Narcissa looked at Andi. "What did you see?"

"I saw the end of the attack on the Longbottoms who were at the dower house, which is why when he was assigned to be a lookout, he had no idea who Barty, Bella and his brother were attacking until he heard Bella screaming Frank's name. When he arrived in the parlor, she was holding Neville and threatening to break his neck. Rabastan got the boy away from Bella when she threw the small child into the air. It's about that time that she crucioed them for the last time as the aurors led by Moody arrived."

All were silent as they sat there absorbing what they had learned. Andi finished off her glass of wine and then said to Narcissa "Were you aware that Bellatrix fell in love with her master? She was taking several different types of potions to find a way to carry his child. It's what finally drove her over the edge, the potions ravaged her brain just like they did our own mother's."

When she saw her daughter looking her way, Andi told her "My mother was determined to have a son, she refused to accept that all she had had were daughters. She tried potion after potion to achieve her aims but none of them worked."

"Living in our house was a nightmare." Narcissa stated. "Mother was obsessed with wanting a son, father hated her and didn't want to sleep with her but he needed a male heir. She frequently shared her bed with female lovers when he was away and he tortured Bella for not being a son. The ritual they were attempting before I was rescue is one of the darkest of blood magics and while Uncle Orion would have his eldest son back in the family fold, father would have been able produce a son from magic, my magic."

Tonks shuddered, rather glad that her mother had been disowned by her family for all of these years as she listened to her aunt and mother discuss what they had seen in Bellatrix's mind.

Just around the time the sun was highest in the sky there was a soft pop and Lucius Malfoy and two others were standing nearby. One was grumbling about having to side apparate to their location while the other one was making all of her senses go haywire.

Frowning because this was the second time it had happened within a month, Tonks looked over at the man who was different one than had affected her during the trial of her cousin in the Wizengamot though this one looked and smelled oddly familiar.

"Severus, hello." Andi said approaching her former Potion's teacher and hugged the austere looking man who to her shock smiled at her mother. "How are things with young Harry?"

"He is doing well, thank you." Snape replied before looking at the other two women. "Narcissa are you alright?"

"I have been better but it was no worse than I imagined it would be to see her." Narcissa admitted before looking between the former werewolf and her niece. "I think we have two here who have not met since Dora got her wand."

Remus looked at the woman with pink hair wearing an auror uniform. "I have met her, at Sirius' trial."

"No we didn't." Tonks replied after taking a good look at the sandy haired man a she was sure was older than her mother at first, until she got a better look. "Wait, you are friends with Sirius Black, right?"

"Yes, this is Remus Lupin, he used to visit when you were small with Sirius."

The young adult blanched as she recalled meeting him just as she had been learning to write and how after he had given her her favorite book for Christmas when she was seven, she had vowed to marry him. She had written Mrs. Remus Lupin all over the inner book jacket of the muggle book Winnie the Pooh that year and had vowed that he would be her first kiss.

Flushing a dark red, she was about to take a step to move closer to Remus when she tripped over her own feet and thankfully his fast reflexes ended up being held tightly in his arms instead of with grass stains. Willing away her humiliation, she stuttered thank you and before anyone could say anything else, she told her mother she would see her at dinner and quickly apparated away grateful that unlike her mother or aunt she had not drank more than a few sips of the wine.

Remus side apparated Andromeda Tonks home, and was grateful that he had an invite to dinner at the Malfoy household because the woman had been rather determined to get him to stay there for the meal. He had eventually given in to her request..? Demand...? that he eat with them the following evening and apparated to the outer wards of the newly purchased and furnished Black house. He strolled inside to find Sirius attempting to wrap a present without magic. "What are you doing?"

"It's for Harry. I wanted to do it all myself." The other man growled before crumbling up the paper and looking up at his friend. He tilted his head to the side in a manner that reminded Lupin of him as Padfoot and then said "Why do you look so stressed?"

Remus sat down in a nearby chair and called for a bottle of butter beer. "I have no idea. I was helping Malfoy retrieve his wife and the others after their visit to Azkaban. Andromeda and Narcissa seemed fine. Andi's daughter was there though. I don't get how she became an auror though, she is rather unsteady on her feet, this is the second time I have had to keep her from falling."

"Second time, you never mentioned a first with the adult version of the future Mrs. Remus Lupin." Sirius said just as Remus opened the bottle of fizzy sugar drink. Seeing the smirk, he said "You remember?"

"It was rather hard to forget my first and only marriage proposal. Oh Merlin, do you think she remembered her crush on me and was embarrassed. I will have to talk to her, let her know that we all have had juvenile crushes on people we regret." Remus said as the memories of that time came back to him. "It's hard to believe that that posed and self assured little girl was the same woman I have ran into twice."

Before Sirius could tell him that was a terrible idea to speak to the auror about it, a head was seen in the fireplace and Sirius told Amelia Bones and Minerva McGonagall to come though.

After discussing the mess the Headmaster had created, Amelia Bones handed over a wrapped package of six books and said "We found these in the vaults, they belonged to your family."

Grimacing, Sirius put them on the desk and turned to Amelia and asked about the alarm on the wards of the Potter properties that they had found. "I have arranged for Croaker to send a team out, I would suggest that one of the three of you be at each of the houses as they remove them. I trust Croaker but I am rather sure that there are some of the Unspeakables who would love a chance to be that close to the Potter family magic and who might violate their oath."

"I would recommend Severus, he would scare them to death with one look." Minerva said. Seeing them looking rather affronted at the statement, she chuckled and said "It isn't a slight, boys, but even you have to admit that after ten years teaching, he now has the you are in serious trouble look down pat."

There was some laughter at that statement before Amelia told them that Amos Diggory had requested speaking to Harry. "He needs access to the Chamber of Secrets and Harry is the only known parseltongue."

"I will mention it to him." Sirius said. "What about the Headmaster? How is Amos going to get around the fact that it is located at Hogwarts?"

"Ah, see that is why you were not placed in Slytherin." Amelia said. "Thankfully, Lucius and Severus had a way around that when I spoke to them earlier this week. If you recall thought I am sure you see it in your nightmares, Harry defeated the basilisk which means..."

"Right of conquest." Lupin said wearing a large smirk on his face as he tried to imagine how Albus would react. "You know the old man is going to try to claim it belongs to the school, right?"

"Let him try. Several different teams of lawyers and specialists all agree that it belongs to Harry and that it's victims deserve some compensation. We did a little bit of quiet checking and there is already an offer of over a million galleons from the Chinese magical government for any shedded snake skin since they knew we will want to keep what is still on the monster." Amelia replied.

"Knowing my, er our godson, he will want to ensure some of it goes to Hogwarts, Amelia." Sirius said.

"It is up to him, the only think that Amos wants is enough of the venom to replicate it for the Moonrebirth potion. The Ministry has agreed that it is to be offered for free to any werewolf who wants it." she said. Seeing their surprise, she said "Fudge wanted to sell it to them, at an exorbitant price and make it compulsory at the same time. He really didn't like it when Amos compared him to Albus and the little rooster backed down after Severus pointed out that he was the only potion master outside of the Goblins who could make it."

"Moonrebirth?" Remus asked.

"Please don't ask. I swear there are purebloods in the Ministry that should not be allowed to procreate." Amelia said rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Fudge requested names from the entire Ministry and that was the one that was chosen."

"It's ah, rather catchy." Remus said his lips twitching. "Still, I thought this was a potion that the Americans created back in the forties."

"They did, it's why Snape refused to accept authorship of it. He says that the Americans are going to want to sue us over what he called a rather smug sense of entitlement. He pointed out that all we are doing is combining an older formula with the wolfsbane potion."

Minerva looked over at the nearby table and seeing the familiar looking Quidditch case with the four balls inside the case that asked "Is that for Harry?"

"It's his birthday gift but after a comment he made to Hermione the other day, I decided to wrap it myself without magic." Sirius said glaring at the muggle gift wrap paper he had picked up with red background and gold happy birthday written all over it. "It won't work out."

He looked hopefully at the two women, clearly wanting one of them to finish the job, but Amelia just chuckled and when he turned to his former transfiguration teacher, she said "Sirius, my wrapping it for you would be no different than using magic to do so."

With that they left and Remus reminded Sirius that Harry and Draco were in charge of dinner that night at the Malfoy manor. "We promised we would be there. They created a dessert they are calling Chocolate Delight, according to Severus, it has over a dozen different types of chocolate in it."

"Moony, someday you are going to mature and you are going to give you that addiction of yours." Sirius said laughing as he went to change into more appropriate clothes. As a parting shot on his way out the door, he stuck his head around the corner and looking at him said "Just a reminder of certain rules of pureblood etiquette, no proposing to my niece without asking first her head of house and then her father's permission."

Remus removed the throw pillow from the nearby sofa and banished it towards his oldest friend calling out. "I have no intention of ever marrying anyone, let alone someone who I knew as a child, as for asking when someone else is going to mature, isn't that rather like the cooking pot calling the potion's cauldron black?"

He could hear Sirius laughing as he ascended the stairs and once he was far enough away, Remus removed the muggle candy bar Hermione had given him the day before and began to eat it, rather enjoying this thing called a Milky Way bar.

TBC

Am working on the next part of the story, where Remus and Sirius take the kids to the World Cup and around England, if there are readers who know of fun age appropriate places for me to send them, I need about six places because I won't be doing the cliche zoo bit. Thanks.


	15. We are So Dead

**Chapter Fifteen**

Lucius Malfoy was pacing back and forth in his office, using a dicta-quill and threatening to fire certain Malfoy Corporation employees. He had gave them a month to find new paths forward for the company, new innovations and all that they had presented to him was a new type of quill and more varieties of Elf Wine.

When he had ended the letter, he sent it to the senior staff and went to speak to his wife about her visit to Azkaban, she had been rather quiet upon her return home and had rejected his offer to listen to her concerned earlier that afternoon.

Entering her study, he was surprised to see she had a spell book open and was pointing her wand at herself. It was glowing a deep green and she seemed rather happy. "Narcissa, is everything alright?"

She quickly closed the book and seemed to shut down for a moment before taking a deep breath and requesting he sit down. Telling him what Bellatrix had said, she looked at her husband scared of how he might react to the knowledge she might not be a pureblood.

"Your niece is correct, Cissy. I heard about the Dark Lord's sick game from my father." He said moving to sit next to her. Placing his wand on the table in front of them, he pulled her into his arms and said "You are a Black, Narcissa. Don't let your sister's insanity convince you otherwise. If you want proof, think about the ritual that they wanted to use you for. If you hadn't been a Black, the spell wouldn't have worked."

He watched as her beautiful blue gray eyes met his and then widened as his words began to settle into her brain. "While at the time, I might have been a complete and total moron, if we were to learn you weren't a pureblood now, I wouldn't care."

Seeing the doubt in her eyes, he said "Narcissa, I love you. I have loved you for a very long time. Spending time with Ms. Granger has me thinking that a muggleborn daughter-in-law might not be a bad thing even if I do believe she is going to be Mrs. Potter some day, not Mrs. Malfoy. I am not saying that all of the sudden I am going to become a muggle lover like Arthur Weasley, but I am realizing that we need to find a new and better way to deal with those new to magic."

"Lucius, I love you too." she said resting her head on his shoulder, relaxing for the first time since her visit to her sister. She didn't expect her husband to suddenly change anymore than she had, but like him, she was finding that so many things she had long believed weren't the truth. In a quiet voice, she told him the rest of the shocking events of her day. Looking up when he didn't speak, she said "You knew?"

"That Rabastan preferred men to women, yes." He replied. "I have no proof but I believe that Barty Crouch and he were lovers. It's what had him diving deeper into the dark arts after Hogwarts. It also means that what happened at the Longbottom estate makes more sense."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Barty seemed to be rather obsessed with Rabastan, it was what gave away the possibility that they were lovers. He was the one who tortured Frank Longbottom according to the trial. His brother enjoyed watching someone being tortured, but it was Barty who drove Longbottom insane. We both know that Bellatrix hated Alice because she got the drop on her during that battle in Dover." Lucius stated. "Still, it is rather interesting. Rabastan didn't fight his sentence. He didn't offer a defense, just accepted that he was going to Azkaban. He might have done that out of guilt for what happened to the man he loved."

Hearing the sound of their son entering the room, they looked to where Draco was straightening his robes and smoothing down his hair.

With an amused expression, Lucius asked "Just what have you been up to, I thought Harry and you were cooking dinner tonight?"

"We already prepped most of it." Draco replied then added "I made a promise to help protect a certain Ravenclaw and was working on that this afternoon."

"Should we be concerned?" His mother asked.

"Not unless you consider making sure she got an invite to Longbottom's birthday party something to be concerned about. Neville was agreeable, Hermione made sure she is attending Harry's party as well." He replied and then asked "Who all is attending dinner tonight?"

"Only the family." Narcissa replied looking at her son and once again feeling amazed that the difference in him as a result of a mere three and a half weeks of having Harry Potter as a friend. He had spent the last few years walking around with a constant sneer on his face; now, he even looked happy while working on his summer homework. "Has Severus left the classroom yet?"

Chuckling, Draco sat down in a nearby chair and said "He gave us the afternoon off when he left to meet father. He had been dueling with us and Harry got his wand with a disarming charm earlier. I think my godfather was a bit discombobulated."

Lucius looked at his son and saw that he was laughing and asked "Are you sure he didn't _let_ Harry get his wand?"

"Yes. He was working with us on breaking through a shielding charm when it happened. I don't know who was more surprised, Harry or Uncle Severus." Draco replied. "Father, what was Sirius talking about when he mentioned going on trips in August? He said that you agreed to show all of us your offices."

"Black wants to broaden Harry's views of the magical and muggle worlds." Lucius said still uneasy about Narcissa and his agreeing to let Draco spend time in the muggle world, it was such a dangerous place. He might just have to go along to supervise, because Merlin knew that leaving it to Sirius would most likely result in chaos.

"Draco, where is Harry?" Narcissa asked.

"I have to go." Draco said suddenly standing and then wearing a sheepish expression said "I was supposed to be asking how many for dinner tonight and reporting back. Harry needed to know because he has a surprise."

"Something other than this dessert that Ms. Granger and yourselves are calling the most perfect dessert for chocolate lovers everywhere?" Narcissa asked positive that nothing could live up to that sort of hype.

"Yes." Draco said before hurrying towards the door. Looking back, he saw his father holding his mother's hand and couldn't resist pretending to retch when he saw his father leaning in to kiss his mother. "Please, not while innocent children are in the room."

**VESTA**

As they gathered at the table, Remus was finding it hard not to growl as after spending almost an hour being teased by Sirius regarding his young cousin, the first words he heard from his godson was "So I heard you finally met the girl I said was staring at you that day in court. Did you ask her out?"

"No." Remus growled and reaching over, messed up his hair. "She is barely six years older than yourself."

"Which makes her younger than you." Harry pointed out as Sirius laughed before seating himself on his godson's other side. Looking at Snape who was seated across from them, he simply said "Moonrebirth Potion."

There was a feral grin on the Potion Master's face as he said "The American team who created the potion filed a protest with the IWC, they issued an injunction on the name this afternoon."

Rolling his eyes at the stupidity of adults, Draco looked over at Harry and asked "When are the elves beginning to serve, I am starving?"

"It's up to your father." Harry said looking at the older blond. "We prepped everything earlier today sir."

Lucius called out for the head elf and asked for dinner to be served before looking at Harry and his son. "What will we be eating this evening?"

"It's a Caesar salad which is what is being served for the Vesta dinner. Chicken Scampi and then dessert." He replied.

"You forgot the garlic and butter bread sticks." Draco replied.

"There were any left?" Harry asked looking at the blond who had been 'taste testing' the bread sticks the entire afternoon.

"I only ate three of them." Draco said before looking at the others and saying "Harry supervised while I made the spinach dip for them."

"I thought you disliked spinach?" His godfather asked with a raised eyebrow as he smirked at his godson who flushed at the reminder of a particularly spectacular temper tantrum a few years earlier regarding eating that green.

"It's not so bad when mixed with other things." He grudgingly admitted while the house elves popped in with their drinks and opening course.

While eating dinner, Harry and Narcissa were discussing the various sources of meat and how it could be turned into pasta dishes. She was thrilled when he told her that the he would be there to supervise her dinner party.

Lucius was debating the latest Ministry changes to the World Cup celebrations and about how the aurors who were protecting Victor Krum were having so many problems with young girls when the dark haired teenager frowned and asked "Who is Victor Krum?"

"Seriously?" Draco said with a look of disgust, "You, who are a seeker don't know who Victor Krum is?"

"He is a Quidditch player?" Harry asked and scowled when he saw not only Draco but Remus, Severus and Lucius all rolling their eyes at his question.

"He is the youngest and best professional seeker in the world. He plays for Bulgaria." Draco said staring at Harry like he was an idiot. "He is still in school like us."

"I have never heard of him." Harry said with a shrug. "I like quidditch, but unlike Ron, I am not obsessed with it. I play because I love to fly."

"Stop talking before I decide I hate you again." Draco said with a dark expression on his face. "Seriously, Harry..."

With a slightly self-conscious expression on his face, Harry said "You have to remember I hadn't heard of Quidditch before going to Hogwarts. I love playing and knowing that my dad played, Draco but you had the advantage of growing up with the sport."

"Not helping your cause there." Draco said with a heavy sigh. "I can't help wondering what you would be like on a broom if you had grown up in the magical world."

Severus kept a smirk off his face as he couldn't help thinking that if Harry had been playing all that time, he would have been as good as Krum was now. He knew that wouldn't please Draco who had longed to play Quidditch since he first rode a broom.

When dinner was finished, before they requested dessert, Harry casually mentioned that Draco and he had been working on dessert tonight. "It's multiple layers of chocolate."

"Do you want to wait and have dessert later or now?" Draco asked the adults.

"Maybe just a small portion for myself, now." Narcissa said hiding her amusement knowing from the way that her son was pretending innocence that this was in some way part of the revenge that Harry wanted to mete out to Remus Lupin in some way.

As the adults laid eyes on the thick gooey chocolate concoction of chocolate brownie with chocolate chips, chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate bar in it, covered in chocolate syrup and a dollop of chocolate whipped topping with chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate covered strawberry on top, Remus almost moaned at the sight of all of his favorites in one dish.

Severus looked at the boys with a suspicious expression on his face as he recalled Harry's threats against the other man but decided that they would be after the former werewolf and that he was more than likely in no danger from eating one of his favorite desserts.

The others were simply enjoying the small servings placed in front of them by the house elves as Harry and Draco joked about how they had messed up one of the batches of brownies and that it was still in the kitchen and being kept for a late night snack.

Remus who normally wouldn't have been suspicious looked at the dessert of his dreams and then at the son of Prongs and slowly backed away from the table, a mournful expression on his face as he said "Using my chocolate addiction against me, Harry? Shame on you."

Harry grinned and pulling out his wand said "I swear on my magic that that none of the desserts being served now have been pranked. I am not the Weasley twins, Moony."

The sandy haired man accepted his statement and sank his dessert spoon into the delicious smelling goodness and as large as size bite as good manners would allow and after chewing and swallowing closed his eyes as a blissful expression settled onto his face. "Incredible."

"Please tell me this isn't the dessert for the dinner party?" Severus asked while Sirius kept his eyes on his godson, his mind on Harry's statement that none of the desserts being served NOW were pranked and was certain that Harry had done something to Remus.

"No, we are using a simplified version for the dinner party." Narcissa said her eyes on her son and his friend. She hadn't grown up around Bellatrix without knowing when someone was up to something.

"I already made the brownies for the dinner party." Harry said. "The house elves has them under a stasis charm in the kitchen. With our mistakes being in there as well, there several extra batches. I offered one to the house elves as thanks for all of their help."

Draco almost laughed when he saw the slight frown on his father's face at that statement and only hoped that Harry's plan worked as the other boy expected it to. As the adults finished their dinners and the two teenagers discussed going out to the pitch to practice flying for a bit, Severus pulled Sirius off to have a word with him about his visit with Amelia Bones.

Remus who had finished a book from the Malfoy library had given him ideas on how to use runes to create changes into the Marauder's map, was returning it to the shelves when Lucius and he noticed the two boys were no longer flying but instead had landed.

They watched the two boys being joined by Narcissa as Severus and Sirius joined them in the library. When they noticed the peacocks approaching the trio, Sirius laughed out loud as both of them showed their vibrant plumes to Narcissa and were attempting to charge at the teenagers.

"What are they doing?" Remus asked when he saw the two wizards flying on their brooms, buzzing near the now angry birds and pulling up just in time to avoid being pecked to death. "Did they forget that peacocks have wings?"

Severus looked at Lucius and said "Is that Casanova?"

Nodding ruefully, Lucius told the others "That idiot bird thinks that Narcissa is his mate. I sent him to our estate in France and somehow he managed to find his way back here. What's worse is the Narcissa won't let me send him back, she feels bad for the idiot bird."

Snickering, Sirius was about to make a comparison between the albino peacock and the blond wizard when he saw his godson flying by at a fast rate of speed. Concerned he moved to the window just in time to see Casanova give up chasing Harry and returning to land in front of his cousin. When the peacock exposed his tail feathers and preened in front of her, he began laughing when Narcissa simply shook her head and walked away.

The bird lowered it's covert feathers and its head before it began to stride towards the nearby pond. Seeing Harry landing and laughing along with Draco, Sirius regained control of his laughter and said "I spoke to Mrs. Granger about the party and my plans for Harry and the others next month. She has given me several suggestions in the muggle world and of course I put Narcissa in charge of ideas for the magical world."

"We also need to discuss security." Severus stated as he sat on the sofa with the glass of fire whiskey he had poured himself. "Who do you intend to invite on these excursions?"

"I am open to suggestions." Sirius reported. "I figure a nice round total of about twelve kids. Three kids per adult."

"Who are the adults?" Lucius asked.

"Remus and I have agreed to be there at all time since Severus has responsibilities at Hogwarts. Both of the Grangers have offered to attend when they are free."

"I know that Narcissa is more than willing to help." Lucius replied. "If I am available, I will be there if for no other reason than to help with security."

"Madam Pomfrey offered as well but at her age, she won't be up to dealing with the Weasley twins if they come with us." Remus stated with a grimace. "I feel we should leave who attends up to Harry but am also concerned about taking too many magicals into the muggle world."

The four men were quiet for a moment as they all imagined the potential disaster that they were unleashing. Looking at Harry's godfathers, Lucius asked. "How is the revising going?"

"He has done well. Harry finished all of his summer homework and has done well enough in Arithmancy to join the fourth year class. Runes are taking a bit more work and he will hopefully be up to joining them in fifth year." Severus answered. "I only hope he can withstand the pull of Mr. Weasley and keep up his grades this upcoming year."

Sirius grimaced and said "Harry and I have been having long talks about the past and his parents. He is now well aware of the history between Ron's mother and Lily. I expect fireworks at some point. I don't know how it will affect his relationship with the Weasley children though."

"I am concerned about Draco when school resumes as well." Severus admitted. Seeing Lucius frowning, he said "Your son built his power base in Slytherin on hating Harry. Zabini and Nott will go along with whatever he chooses to do. Nott because he is cunning enough to understand that things change and Zabini because he will see this as an opportunity to escape his mother. It's the older students and the female fourth years that I am concerned about."

"The Greengrass family won't be an issue, they are hoping for a future alliance between us. I haven't agreed to anything and don't intend to but have been silent about my plans. Davis tends to follow Greengrass. It's the Bulstrode family and of course the Parkinsons who are the trouble." Lucius stated. "Crabbe and Goyle have no minds of their own so they will be befuddled but will obey Draco."

"Millicent follows Pansy's orders and Ms. Parkinson is a vindictive little trouble maker who loathes Granger for the attention she garners. She will be jealous that Granger is the Vesta Apprentice and that a muggleborn was honored with the title. However, Millicent and Hermione had a bonding experience due to her cat's amorous pursuit of Bullstrode's cat." Severus stated. "I wouldn't be so sure of Goyle, Lucius. He isn't smart enough to plan anything but he will separate himself from Draco this year if only on his father's orders."

As the four men discussed Hogwarts, the students, the upcoming changes and that the Headmaster would soon learn that Harry was friends with Draco, time began to pass. The sky darkened and candles were lit while two teenagers discussed similar things in Draco's room before deciding to go box up the brownies they were going to leave for a certain former werewolf to find.

**VESTA**

Downstairs, Lucius called for one of the house elves and requested brownies for the four of them, before smirking at his old friend Snape who had a well hidden chocolate addiction of his own.

The house elf returned to the kitchen and found the brownies that he had been told were to be kept for the party later that week and then remembered that there were extras in a nearby cabinet.

Placing them on a platter and putting on it the large pitcher of milk, he popped back into the library and placed his burden on the table and quickly left as the four men helped themselves to a late night snack unaware that they had been hidden as Harry had had misgivings about his prank involving the drugs...

Harry and Draco were sitting in the garden after having left the potential trouble making brownies that would have a certain former werewolf being rather amorous right in plain site and were speaking about the upcoming dinner party and what it meant for Narcissa Malfoy and Hermione when the blond looked at Harry and asked "Have you actually told her you like her yet?"

Flushing, he reminded Draco that he had done so while under the curse that Remus had accidentally hit him with. "But no, I uh, haven't mentioned it again. I am planning on waiting until the night of my surprise birthday party. I sort of have it all planned."

The two boys went silent again, then Draco looked over at Harry and asked "What happens when we go back to Hogwarts? I mean how are we going to be able to stay friends once in school?"

With a heavy sigh, Harry said "I know that Hermione and Neville will be fine with it, I expect trouble from Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. But not only because of my friendship with you. I have to speak with Mrs. Weasley about the truth regarding what happened between my mother and her before school starts. I can't believe that no one who knew the truth ever told me. What about your friends? How are they going to react to you being friends with Hermione let alone myself?"

"Hermione is the Vesta Apprentice, remember?" Draco pointed out with a knowing smirk on his face. "There isn't a single true Slytherin who won't want to befriend her. Blaise will be fine, Theo as well mainly because he is all about being ambitious. Vincent will follow what ever I tell him to do. Greg, he tends to be the same way but he is terrified of his father. Most of the older Slytherins have been unhappy about our battles because they have cost me so many house points from Severus."

"Really?" Harry asked. "I didn't think he took points off of any of you."

"You have no idea." Draco said. "He not only took points he assigned extra work and we often have additional punishments." He is all about house unity so he never punished us publicly but he dealt with things in house."

"Speaking of Severus, I have to go get that book to read about shield spells like he wants. I did fine breaking through his shield spell but mine didn't hold up over time." Harry said standing and reaching out to pull Draco to his feet. "So if you help me, we can get back to our rooms and you can finally figure out what to write your final transfiguration project."

Draco groaned and said "I think that the books you need are in the balcony. I have an idea about my project. I just need to speak to my father about it."

Entering through the side doors and up the spiral staircase to the third floor where they slipped into the stacks and gathered the four books that Severus had recommended earlier that day. They could hear the older wizards talking in the lower part of the library and both of them decided to eavesdrop.

They listened to the wizards discussing how the Headmaster was going to react to learning that Harry had spent part of the summer with Draco and his family. They heard Lucius requesting brownies from the house elves and grinned at one another grateful they had had the ones for Moony boxed up already and the others hidden.

Heading back to their rooms, they had no idea that the house elves had misunderstood what Harry had told them. They knew one set was for Lupin and were under the belief that only the ones hidden were to be served before the dinner party.

Lucius was rolling his eyes as Severus and Remus argued about which type of wine went best with brownies after the house elf had depositing the platter with the small chocolate squares on the coffee table and had left.

"What happened to eating them with milk?" Sirius asked as he looked at his two co-guardians with an amused expression on his face at the thought of having to be the adult in the conversation.

"If you want milk, there is milk on the tray." Severus sneered. "What we are talking about is how adults eat brownies, not philistines such as yourself."

Grabbing for one of the brownies, hesitating for a second then deciding that the brownies would be safe, Sirius poured himself a glass of milk and smacking his lips, stated "Well if no one else is going to eat any, I will just have to finish the whole platter."

Lucius went to the dry sink and poured himself a glass of his Ruby Red port and then using a levitation charm poured the port into the empty glasses in front of Lupin and Severus. "Since neither of you idiots know what you are talking about, we are going to drink the port with the brownies."

Sirius just shook his head and lifting his glass of ice cold milk, toasted the other three by saying "Here's to a summer spent thwarting idiots, regaining control of our destinies and helping the next generation to become who they are meant to be."

"Here, here." Remus responded as he clinked his glass with the others before taking a sip of his port. "Here's to being free."

"To freedom." Severus said as they once again clinked their wine glasses with Black's tumbler full of milk. "To having a future and honoring the wishes of those no longer with us."

Remus ate his brownie and was reaching for another one when he heard Sirius ask if he was sure he wanted to do that. "Why wouldn't I want one?"

"Have you forgotten that Harry is Lily's son? That revenge will be slow and sweet and more than likely when you are least expecting it." Sirius stated with an amused expression on his face. "He isn't going to just forget that hex, Remus. You had also better hope that he never figures out that it wasn't quite the accident you stated it was."

"Harry already said that the brownies were safe, Padfoot but nice try." Remus said rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Stop trying to make me so paranoid that I start to look for danger behind every single thing he does."

Severus hesitated before reaching for a second brownie as he recalled Harry's statement during dessert but since no one had grown feathers or had turned an interesting shade of blue, he felt fairly safe eating a brownie, besides, in for a knut, might as well be in for a galleon considering he had already eaten one of the brownies.

As the talk turned to the upcoming world cup, the changes that Lucius was trying to make in his company and Sirius' plans for the rest of the summer, the quartet finished the entire platter of brownies and Severus wandered off towards the kitchen, only to find a box of the blasted things on a counter.

Sniffing them, he frowned and then returned them to the cabinet, knowing that if Lupin saw them, the former werewolf would take them home and not share them with the rest of the group. He never saw a house elf frown and return the boxed up brownies to the counter.

Exiting to the garden, he was soon seated on the wrought iron settee and after making sure that no one was around, he lit a cigar. Hearing a knowing chuckle, he turned and saw Lucius standing there. "What?"

"I thought you gave those up?" The blond man asked as he joined him. Sniffing the air, he signed and said "Just sitting out here with you is going to get me banned from my bedroom this evening."

"I did but every once in a while, I just have to have one. Where is Black and Lupin?" He asked staring off at the stars in the sky and gaining the attention of the two teenagers who heard voices and who came to the window to eavesdrop.

"Lupin is reading that book I found on runes. He was very interested in copying a certain map." Lucius stated. "Black was dragged off by Cissa almost the moment you left. She is still fretting about what her sister told her during her visit to Azkaban."

"Bellatrix should have been kissed by the dementors by now." Severus said frowning. "I am surprised she is still alive. She was insane before she went to prison."

The two friends sat there and then out of no where, Lucius looked over at Severus and asked "Are you still in love with Potter's mother?"

With an almost unheard laugh, Severus said "Do I still love Lily, yes. No, I am not in love with her, Lucius. She was my first friend, the person who understood me best. I miss her, even now. I think even more so now that I am getting closer to her son. I see so much of her in him. Yes, he looks more like his father, but his personality, what is slowly emerging as he gains confidence, it's Lily."

Sirius who had been with Narcissa exited the house and upon joining the two men said "Remus fell asleep with his head on your desk. I removed the book before he could drool on it though."

"You left him there. You could have had a house elf pop him into a bedroom, Black." Lucius said before calling for Topsy and doing just that. Once done, he looked at Sirius and asked "What about you, are you still in love with a dead woman?"

Stunned, Sirius looked over at the blond and then at Severus before staring off into the night sky. When he began to deny it, Lucius said "I saw you fifth year when I came to take Narcissa to lunch, when you asked her out and she said no."

Harry who was upstairs was curious as to who Draco's dad was talking about and when he heard the answer, he felt a bit strange.

"I wasn't in love with her." Sirius replied with a small smile. "Who knows, if she had said yes when I asked her to go to Hogsmead with me...but no, I doubt it. James and Lily, they were meant to be. I think I was more in love with her kindness than anything. Remus, Frank, that moron in Ravenclaw, you know the one I mean, Snape."

With a nod, Severus said "Thomas Thickeness, nephew of Pious Thickeness. Lily's warmth drew everyone to her. I used to think that Potter stole her away, but now, looking at Harry and Hermione, I see what I didn't see then."

"That they belonged. Oh, James had a lot of maturing to do and Lily, well she needed to stop trying to control every single minuet detail of her life, but once they realized it.. that was it." Sirius replied. "When James told me that he knew I had asked Lily out, I was so worried he would feel I betrayed him."

"Who sent that house elf to put me to bed?" Moony asked as he staggered outside while yawning. Hearing the others chuckling, he said "He, she, I couldn't tell which it was, had icy cold hands. What are you all talking about?"

"The illusions of thinking that just because Lily June Evans was nice to you that it meant she might fall for you as much as you fell for her." Sirius replied.

"Oh that. I spent most of fourth year feeling like that, until Lily decided to take matters into her own hands to prove to me that she wasn't the one for me." Harry was shocked to realize that Remus had also liked his mother at one point.

"How did she do that?" Lucius asked.

Chuckling, Remus said "She kissed me and to my dismay, it was like kissing the sister I never had. She just grinned and told me that we would bore each other to death. I never told James because I was too embarrassed."

|  
Sirius looked at him and said "She didn't even try to let me down easy. Just told me I needed a zoo keeper not a girl friend and then pointed out that if I had been serious about being interested in her, I wouldn't be keeping three other girls in the wings. James laughed when I told him, I expected him to deck me but he didn't."

"Really?" Severus was surprised, Potter had had it bad for Lily since he had met her and had been very protective of her. Severus had felt the same way and when that had been added to the jealousy of Potter being in the same house as his Lily and that had created most of the tension between the two of them.

"He said that if Lily and I had actually gone out and I had treated her like I had my usual dates, he would have ended our friendship immediately but that if Lily had cared for me and I had made her happy that was all he would have wanted." Sirius replied. "He said her happiness meant that he was happy or some drivel like that. He said I would understand someday. Once I got over my crush on Lily, it was rather plain that we would have never worked."

There was silence for a few minutes, then Lucius said "I never crushed on anyone. I was fourteen when I realized Narcissa was the one for me. Slughorn had me tutoring her in Transfiguration. She still hadn't managed the toothpick into needle by the end of October. At least that is what I believed."

Sirius chuckled and then sighing said "Let me guess, Ms. Black knew you were the Slytherin tutor assigned for transfiguration. How many tutoring sessions did she need?"

"Only one, but she played to my ego, had me thinking I was the best tutor ever. Convinced me that she would only pass McGonagall's class if I helped her." With a smug chuckle, the blond replied "She refused to admit it for years, but we both knew the truth."

Sirius smirked and with a sideways look at Remus told him. "Those Black girls, they are a bit determined to get their man. Why I know a certain auror..."

"Stop it right there, Padfoot." Remus said scowling at him. "If you don't stop this, I am going to go locate Tabitha Stevens, remember her?"

When the ebony haired wizard shuddered, Lucius and Severus both chuckled as they also remembered the very determined witch who had stalked Black during Hogwarts.

"Good Godric, I had forgotten all about her. Why would you torment me this way by bringing up her?" Sirius asked Remus. "Whatever happened to her? I mean, did she find someone to follow around?"

Severus let out a few more chuckles and then said "She married Thaddeus Vane. They have a daughter at Hogwarts who is already following in her mother's infamous footsteps. She has a huge crush on Harry."

"Really? She managed to trick someone into marriage?" Remus asked the potion's master.

"I don't know about being tricked, but yes, she did get married." Severus answered. "So, Remus, not to change the subject, but what is up with Auror Tonks and yourself?"

"Nothing. Nothing is up with us." Remus replied scowling at the trio sitting across from him. "In fact, I am rather tired. I am going to head home via the floo."

With that he made what he hoped was a dignified retreat back through the kitchen doors. Finding the box of brownies with his name upon them, and already desperate to fulfill his chocolate fix, Remus scooped it up, completely forgetting his vengeful godson as he flooed directly to the house Sirius had set up.

Out in the garden, Severus was feeling an odd yen for something to snack on which was rather unusual as normally once he sated his sweet tooth for the evening, he rarely wanted anything else to eat. He never noticed the wide eyed teenagers as the remaining wizards began to complain about still wanting something to eat.

When Lucius called out for a house elf and asked if there were anymore spare brownies, he frowned when the elf replied that all that was left were the ones for the dinner party.

"How can you be hungry?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "We just had a huge three course dinner, we had a lovely dessert and then ate an entire tray of brownies."

"I am not hungry." Lucius replied then rather reluctantly added "It's more like I want something to snack on."

"Biscuits?" Sirius asked from where he was lulling around on a chaise lounger, his mind bemused at how beautiful the stars looked that evening.

"They would do, but no." Lucius replied unable to explain the rather oddly familiar urge. "Severus, what about you?"

"I wouldn't say no to a small snack." He admitted.

Sirius just shook his head, surprised they had any room for more food. When the house elf returned with a platter of biscuits, they were soon finished with Sirius bemused to realize he had eaten several of them himself.

A few minutes later, the three wizards were a bit dazed, but Lucius was annoyed to realize he still wanted something to eat, but he couldn't figure out what. Standing, he saw that Sirius was asleep so he called for a house elf and had it take Black to a bedroom then suggested to Severus that they find something to eat.

Fifteen minutes later, the kitchen looked like a hurricane had blown through while Severus was muttering threats against Remus. "I told you I hid the damn brownies, he had to have taken them. He is the only person who left."

"Maybe the boys came down for a late night snack." Lucius said as he peered in the pantry looking for something a bit more satisfying than biscuits. Finding nothing, he called out for one of the house elves, only for the nervous creature to tell him that his Mistress doesn't allow him to keep fattening snacks in the house.

"Go locate some crisps, or better yet..." Lucius looked at Severus with a smirk on his face and said "What do you say to a late night raid?"

The dark haired wizard felt something in the back of his neck tingling, something telling him this wasn't such a good idea, but the buzz he had gained from the brownies was blocking his sense of right and wrong. "Where?"

"Where do you think we would find crisps?" Lucius replied as he suggested that they go wake up Sirius and bring him along. The two wizards were chuckling in what they were convinced was a quiet manner as they hurried up the stairs, stopping on the landing for a moment then Lucius said "I don't know which room the house elf put him in. Let's just go without him."

They never saw the wide eyed teenagers standing in the doorway of the Harry's room, they never saw them looking nervously at one another before Harry said to Draco "Here goes nothing. We can't let them do this."

"How are we going to..."

Harry didn't think, he just sent a stunning charm at Lucius Malfoy and watched as he landed face first onto the marble with a thud.

"Expelliamus." Harry softly said as he removed the wand from a wizard that six weeks ago he would have never even considered protecting from himself. When Severus turned to glare at him and start to yell, Harry hastily got the drop on his godfather/guardian before turning to Draco and saying "We are in so much trouble!"

"What do you mean we?" He asked only to look at where his father and godfather were laying. "Do you think we should take Severus' wand too?"

"You get it." Harry said as he quietly gulped down his fear and then called for Dobby. Thankfully the house elf answered him and with a gleeful grin agreed to Harry's request but the smile faded away at the additional statement asking him not to harm either of the wizards.

Once Dobby had placed the wizards in their bedrooms, the two teenagers gave each other apprehensive looks then asked "What do you think happened to Sirius and Remus?"

They checked the guest bedrooms on that floor and located Sirius fast asleep in his clothes on the bed, then after asking Dobby to locate the older wizard, he returned to tell them that Remus was fast asleep on the sofa at the new Black estate.

Harry picked up the two wands and carried them down to the library. Placing them on the desk, he sank onto the sofa and watched as Draco silently joined him. Putting their feet up on the coffee table in front of them, the two teenagers got comfortable then sat there staring at the unlit fireplace.

"So, do you think that your dad is going to be pissed?" Harry asked. "Maybe if we tell him the truth..."

"I think that if we tell him the truth, we are going to be in even worse trouble." Draco replied as he winced. "I think we should be more worried about Severus. I don't think that he is just going to forget seeing us, forget that, seeing you disarm my father."

"We're so dead." Harry replied then a few minutes after Draco echoed his agreement, Harry said "What's worse is that now I can't unhear what I heard about how they felt about my mom."

"It could be worse..." Draco pointed out. When Harry looked at him as if asking how, he said "They could all have a crush on your girlfriend."

"That is just gross, Malfoy." Harry replied as they sat there, silently.

"We are so dead." Draco said suddenly.

"I already said that." Harry pointed out.

"I was just pointing it out in case you had forgotten." Draco defensively retorted then said "At the very least, I think we should consider not being here in the morning."

"I know." Harry glumly replied as the hallway clock chimed that it was midnight. "Think we should write out our wills?"

TBC


	16. Sadistic Evil Bastard

A/N: I am going to finish posting this story before returning to finish The One appointment. Mainly because Lucius is nasty and mean in that one and so is Molly and Albus. Its difficult to write them in opposite manners. I don't see Molly in this one as evil, more obvious to her own ignorance. We see Ron lose it in this one and he is more neutral in TOAWAMK. I am going to be posting a story Idea and first chapter that I have been working on this summer that has an important authors note, please read. 

Chapter Sixteen

Evil and Sadistic Bast...!

Sirius Black woke up in a strange bed, but upon entering the corridor realized he was still at the Malfoy estate. Grimacing when he noticed the time and recalling he had an early morning meeting with his estate manager, he hurried down to the floo network and exited the manor returning to his own estate.

Bypassing his parlor, he could hear the sound of Remus snoring but left the other wizard alone, knowing he no time to harass him. Soon showered, shaved and dressed in the appropriate robes, Sirius hurried down the stairs and opened the door to exit his house.

Finding his cousin and her daughter, he looked at Andromeda and said "Right on time. Nyphmie, a certain pal of mine is asleep in the parlor if you don't mind waking him up."

The off duty auror saw Sirius winking her way and wanted to roll her eyes. Her mother was fine with her interest in Lupin, but her father had been rather hesitant, former werewolf or not, he still considered him too old for her.

Watching as her mother and cousin apparated to the meeting regarding the Black estate, she looked around the empty house and with a wicked smirk decided that maybe it was time to prove to the man she was planning on romancing just how much of an adult she was.

Locating him from the sound of his soft snoring, she couldn't help taking in the picture of him sleeping on the sofa with his shirt unbuttoned, his shoes kicked off and his jeans unsnapped.

Using her wand to transfigure the sofa into a double lounger, she sat down next to the still asleep with wizard with the simple intention of waking Sleeping Beauty up with a kiss.

Leaning closer, she saw the remnants of what looked like brownies in a small white pastry box. Lifting one, she bit into it, and with a moan licked her lips at how delicious it was.

Noticing the evidence that Remus had been eating the brownies, she couldn't help wondering if he tasted of chocolate and lowered her head to press a gently kiss to his slightly parted lips.

When she heard him softly muttering her name and then his hands reaching up to pull her even closer as his lips and tongue engaged hers in an even deeper kiss, she couldn't help silently shouting yes as she felt his left hand wrapped up in the tangle of dark curls that was her natural hair color while his right hand was now on the small of her back pulling her even closer until she was pressed tightly against his chest.

Hands were tangled in hair, hers sliding down the bare skin now exposed to her eyes and touch, soft gasps turned to sharp pants and concerns were soon being tossed aside as inhibitions were lowered and two people attracted to one another found themselves giving into their passion...

LMNMLNNM

Narcissa woke up to realize that her husband seemed to have injured his nose at some point during the night. Frowning at the bruise she could see forming on his forehead, she reached over to shake him awake only for a naked Lucius to roll over onto his stomach and bury his head in his pillow.

"Lucius." When he moaned in response to her shaking his arm and seemed to be even more determined to sleep, she leaned in and softly whispered in his ear "I am free all morning and I do believe that Severus has plans with Draco and Harry. I was thinking of maybe taking a nice long bubble bath followed by a hot steaming shower. Perhaps you would care to help wash away the evidence of the rest of my morning plans?"

The idiot simply began to snore, Narcissa's eyes narrowed as she glared at her husband. "Lucius?"

When he had awoken enough to give her a rather vacant grin, she slid off the bed and let the spaghetti straps of her negligee slide down her arms and with a shrug the ivory colored silk landed in a puddle at the feet of her now naked body. "Care to join me?"

To her absolute shock, he muttered something about maybe later then returned his head to it's former position of being buried in his pillow. Regaining her senses, Narcissa lifted her wand and sent a rather interesting hex his way, then said "Well if that is going to be your response, see if you get another chance at even seeing this body naked again until your son has returned to school, even then it might not happen."

Her only answer was the sound of her husband snoring. Narcissa was muttering dire threats as she stormed off to shower, deciding that if Lucius was going to ignore her offer, then she would make damn sure he paid for the insult.

Yes, a day spent shopping, maybe put a nice dent in her vault would help her recover from the disappointment of the morning. Soon dressed as if for battle, she was wearing her favorite robes and was carrying her wand as she went to leave her bedroom.

Stopping in the doorway, aggravated with her husband, she sent a stinging hex to his bare backside and when he shot up, shouting what the hell, she smirked at him and said "Have a nice day, dear."

With that the sound of the heavy oak door slamming shut echoed throughout the house and a stunned husband rubbing his aching rear end and looked around the bedroom for his wand, wondering what his apparently angry for no reason wife had done with it.

SSHPSSHP

Severus Snape sat at the desk, his wand in his hand twirling it with his long fingers as he heard the sound of a door on the upper floors being slammed shut. The sound of heels on the stairs and then the soft soprano sound of Narcissa Malfoy calling out the name of her favorite expensive clothing store had the potions master smirking in spite of his anger at the two teenagers asleep in front of him.

Noticing the two boys beginning to show signs of awaking, he spelled the tea tray to sit in front of them with his extra special addition in it. Using a disillusioning charm on himself, he awaited the perfect moment to interrogate the two little hellions.

Harry yawned and then stretching looked at Draco who was staring at the desk where there were two wands still laying on the leather desk top. "What time is it?"

Stopping in the middle of pouring himself a cup of tea, Draco looked at the clock on the mantle and said "It's about eight."

Harry took the tea pot and poured himself a cup while reaching for one of the pastries. "Thank goodness for the house elves."

"Do you think that they are still asleep?" Draco said pointing towards the wand.

Grimacing, Harry replied. "I think so. I read the stuff we found on what the brownies would do. They might still be lethargic. What are we going to do? I thought we hid those brownies after changing our plans."

"I don't know. I mean, even if we tell them the truth, we are so in for it." Draco said as he reached for a chocolate croissant. "I was thinking... maybe we should tell my mother what happened."

Harry bit into his breakfast while he thought about that plan. "I was thinking as well but I think we need to talk to Hermione. I mean, your mom is able to punish us. I think we need an impartial observer before putting our head in the lions mouth if you know what I mean."

"Impartial? Granger would never even think of telling you you are an idiot, Harry." He said in an incredulous tone. "Seriously, think."

"No, you don't know that side of Hermione, trust me, when she hears what we did, her response will give us an idea of how they will react." Harry said knowledgeably. "First year, when you and I were supposed to meet near the trophy room her and we accidentally ended up in the third floor corridor and found Fluffy, you should have heard her. She was going on and on about how we were going to end up dead or worse expelled."

Severus barely caught his need to snicker out loud at that statement but Draco simply looked at Harry as if he was insane.

"I think that this is a little bit worse than sneaking out after curfew to duel. We sort of drugged my father, your godfathers, my godfather and then to keep them from exposing the magical world, we, no you attacked my father and then our mutual godfather, we stole their wands and that is before we have even found out if Remus ended up with the brownies with the twins experimental love potion in it." Draco pointed out.

"That is what I am saying. We tell Hermione and multiply her reaction by a multitude of ten how badly things are going to be." Harry said.

"We could run away." Draco suggested half serious.

"Nah, we committed the crime, we have to face the time." Harry said to Severus' surprise. "Besides, I am sure that they won't kill us. Maim us, maybe tan our hides."

"What I don't get is how they found those dang brownies. You were right, we should have tossed them away when we changed our mind about using them, peacocks or no peacocks." Draco said as he finished his tea.

Hearing the sound of his father bellowing for a house elf, he flinched and said "Are you sure we can't runaway?"

"Where could we go that they wouldn't find us?" Harry sensibly asked. "Besides, it wasn't like we meant for them to eat the brownies and we did prevent something worse from happening."

Groaning, Draco looked at Harry as if he was insane. "Seriously? You think that is going to make a bit of a difference?"

"No, but it seems like a good beginning of what we are going to say to try and save ourselves." Harry honestly replied then looking at the blond said with a slight grin "Well it's been an interesting couple of weeks. So Ave, Morituri te salutant!" _We who are about to die, salute you._

"Oh Merlin, the pressure has finally caused your tiny mind to crack." Draco said as he stood and went to pull Harry out of the room with him only for the double doors to suddenly shut. "Oh no."

"Have a seat." The soft baritone from behind them had the two teenagers looking at one another then returning to the sofa. Soon seated next to one another, their eyes on their shoes and not on the wizard now standing in front of them holding a wand. "Who wants to start?"

"With what? Sir?" Draco asked as his eyes went to his godfather's wand now tightly held in his right hand.

"With what I am sure is a very interesting tale of woe or should we simply move to the part where I decide what your punishment is to be." Severus said sounding rather calm to the surprise of the two teenagers. "Who is going to begin?"

"I am sure neither of us, but I will." Harry said and after taking a deep breath, spilled about everything including a few things he had intended to keep hidden after a few carefully asked questions of his godfather.

Draco's eyes went wide as he listened to Harry spill his guts so completely that they were sure to be grounded until they graduated Hogwarts.

"So let me get this straight. You didn't intend for the four of us to be under the effects of this, just Lupin. Correct?" Severus asked in a tone that should have warned them that things were not as they seemed but both were too relieved at what seemed like them not getting in trouble.

"Yes, Harry only wanted revenge for what he did to him. We uh changed the plan when we found out about my cousin. We thought it would be more fitting for Remus to suffer like Harry did." Draco replied.

"Ah, yes, the redoubtable Ms. Tonks." Severus said and when he saw the two boys relaxing when they saw him smile, he frowned and said in a threatening tone. "Did you ever consider that maybe, just maybe it might have been Sirius, Lucius or myself who ended up eating those brownies?"

"They had his name on them." Harry said logically. "Why would any of you take something that didn't belong to you."

Growling as he realized how close he had come to doing just that and ending up making a fool of himself, Severus looked at the two boys and asked "Now, perhaps one of you rather enterprising young wizards cares to tell me where you found this drug?"

Gulping, Harry said "It belonged to Dudley. I knew where he hid things at the house on Privet Drive. It was simple enough to get a hold of it otherwise we would have never made the plan. I mean, we didn't want to get arrested for purchasing it."

"Well that is one good thing, I am rather pleased to know that you two brain trusts realize that possessing drugs are illegal. Perhaps maybe one of you could have continued to think a bit more and maybe, just maybe realize that drugging someone is just as wrong." Snape's tone was now icy cold and the two teenagers began to realize that he was not going to let them off with a slap on the hand. "In fact, I think the only thing you two did do correctly was realize that your plan was idiotic and potentially dangerous."

"W-we were going to destroy the brownies today." Harry said with a sideways look at his godfather. "Draco spoke to Neville yesterday afternoon and we were going to put them in his compost heap."

Severus counted to ten, then pointing at two corners on opposite sides of the room, told them to stand in them. When he saw the tension slip away, he said "This is only a stop gap measure until we find out just how much damage was done. No talking and I want the two of you to think of all the ways that this could and did go wrong."

Standing, the dark haired wizard glared at the two teenagers and then after a moment's hesitation, exited the room carrying Lucius' wand. Finding the blond wizard searching the back patio for his wand, he asked "Are you looking for something?"

Scowling, Lucius looked up to see his wand/cane in the other wizard's hand. "Where did I leave it?"

"I found it on your desk, but you didn't leave it anywhere. It was removed from you last evening." Severus said tossing it to the other wizard. Once they began to return to the house, Severus said "The boys are in the library, standing in corners being punished. We need to talk. Black is at his estate manager's office."

"I will retrieve him." Lucius replied as he stopped in the entrance way. "Do you have a headache potion? I swear, we must have drank more of that port last night than I realized. I woke up with a sore head, a mouth that tastes like it was stuffed with cotton and a stinging bum."

Slowly turning his head, Severus said "I know where the first two came from, but how did the last happen?"

"I am not sure, but Narcissa was rather irate with me for some reason when she left this morning." He replied as he rubbed the spot where she had hexed him.

Raising an eye brow, Severus said "I heard her calling out the name of her favorite shop as she left this morning. I don't know what you did but I do believe it is going to cost you dearly."

When Lucius frowned, Severus said "Unfortunately if I am right about what ails you, a potion might make things worse. Locate Black and I will fill you both in on what I know."

"What about Lupin?" Lucius asked wondering why the third godfather had been left out.

"Oh, we will get to him later." Severus replied as he went up to shower and change. Dressed in his teaching robes to add a layer of intimidation for the boys, he saw Black returning with Andromeda who looked at the two boys in the corners and sat down to watch the show.

"Severus, what is going on? All Malfoy would tell me is that the boys were in the corner being punished." Black stated as he looked between Draco and Harry who seemed to find their respective corners very interesting as neither looked his way as he entered.

"Sit down and I will fill you in." Severus said as he banished the tea tainted with veritiaserum and soon summoned a fresh pot. "It seems as if the boys decided to get Harry's revenge on Lupin."

"The brownies, there was something in the brownies, right. Boys, we are so going to have to work on your game faces. You were a little too earnest yesterday." Sirius said with a grin on his face.

"Before you begin applauding their behavior, you should know exactly what they did." Severus ordered the boys to come stand next to him as he told them the original plan, where the drugs came from and how it was executed. "Thankfully, they seemed to realize that a fully grown wizard carrying a wand and drugged up might be dangerous and canceled the plan."

Sirius looked to where the boys were now standing and then at Severus wondering why he was punishing them for not going through with things then he frowned as it hit him. "Peter had one of those strange cigarettes back while we were at Hogwarts. James caught us smoking it and threw us in the Black lake to sober us up. Peter was acting odd but thankfully I just wanted to eat, I didn't suffer any other side affects."

"That explains your morning, however the boys in their fear of how we would react, made a preemptive strike last night after you went to bed." Severus stated. "They stunned Lucius and myself and removed our wands."

"My nose!" Lucius cried out, his reaction covering for the snickering of Andromeda and Sirius who was struggling not to laugh. Lucius had been silent up to that point as he stared between his son and Harry. With a scowl on his face he said "You let me fall onto the marble floor!"

"Sorry about that. I didn't think about you hitting the floor until you were already on the ground." Harry confessed.

"How did I get into bed?" Lucius inquired.

"Uh, um, well, it's like, well, I uh..." Harry sputtered for a bit then said "IcalledforDobbyandheputyoutobedforme."

Translating what the boy was saying, Lucius thought about his being naked and how the covers on the bed in the master bedroom had been only wide enough to cover his wife and he shook his head before turning to his son. "What was your part in this?"

"I was the lookout and uh, well I reminded him to take my godfather's wand." Draco replied. "Besides, Harry is stronger at stunning hexes than I am."

Andromeda felt like they were missing a part of the story and she looked at Severus Snape and asked "So, how did the brownies end up being eaten if they changed their plans?"

"We uh, realized that we couldn't just dump the brownies in the rose bushes like we originally planned because of the peacocks." Harry replied leaving out how Neville had gone to the twins for them to get the temporary love potion that would make Remus serenade and write poetry to Tonks. "So we told Neville what we did but he really didn't understand other than that adding them to his compost heap would be good for his plants later on."

"Oh." She said then went silent but there was still a nagging feeling she was missing something after Severus filled them in on the house elves grabbing the wrong brownies and how the had eaten them.

"It's odd that we haven't seen Lupin." Lucius said with a slight frown. "Maybe something was different for him, with his former physiological differences."

"No, he would be fine. Peter tried to slip him one of the cigarettes as well, but he wasn't even hungry, it made him want to sleep a lot." Sirius replied as he saw the consternation on Harry's face as he realized that their plan would not have worked on it's intended target.

"Poor Nymphadora." Andi said with a grin. Seeing the two Slytherins looking her way, she explained. "When I mentioned having to spend the morning with Sirius, she tagged along to speak to Remus. I believe he was still fast asleep. I hope she won't be too bored waiting for my return."

"Severus, I gather you want to assign the punishment?" Lucius asked looking at his son then at Harry. "What do you have in mind?"

"I already gave them an assignment, but I was thinking, maybe since they have so much extra time on their hands, they could clean out your stables." He replied with an evil grin on his face.

"Fine." Draco said pleased at such an easy punishment until he heard the rest.

"No wands. Also they are going to have at least one additional punishment from each of us, to be determined at a later date." Severus replied with a glare at the two teenagers. "I would suggest, finding some old clothes, and I feel it is only right that we have an appropriate supervisor."

The two teenagers felt uneasy as they went to change into old clothes. Since Harry no longer owned any, Draco offered up a pair of his oldest jeans while changing into his second oldest and when they were dressed the two walked down the stairs as slowly as possible to meet whoever was going to supervise their punishment.

Finding an unknown old man with a rather thick mustache, Harry looked towards Draco who looked at the older man with dismay on his face. An hour later, Harry was realizing that the mucking of the four stalls wasn't the punishment, no his diabolical godfather had known exactly what would bother them the most as one Horace Slughorn spent the two and a half hours making them wish they were deaf.

Falling onto a bale of fresh hay, watching as Draco moaned and groaned about how badly he smelled, ached and how he was sure his hair would never be the same, Harry heard the sound of light footsteps encased in rubber.

Whimpering the word no as he took in his own manure enhanced smell, the smudges on his face that he was sure was more of the same and the hand marks where he had swiped his filthy hands on his shirt and desperately looked for a hiding place from what he was sure was Hermione.

Ducking into an empty stall after grabbing Draco, he put his hand over the protesting wizard's mouth and waited until a puzzled Hermione had gone around towards the paddocks where the horses were.

"What did you do that for?" Draco asked as they returned to the middle of the stables.

"No time to explain." Harry said as he hastily removed and tossed the stinky shirt. "I have to get clean before she returns.

Rolling his eyes, rather glad he wasn't trying to impress a girl, Draco pointed at the nearby cement pad outside the stables smirked and said "I have just the thing."

Walking to the wall, he grabbed the water spout and turned the water on to lukewarm (at least he could pretend he was being kind) and pointed the attached hose at the now drenched wizard who was shouting threats as water hit him.

Wrestling the spigot away from Draco he lost control of it and both boys were now badly drenched even if they still smelled slightly of manure.

Hermione was patting the large dark gray stallion with the white mane that she was sure had to belong to Lucius Malfoy when she heard the sound of the boys back at the stables she had already been to.

Severus Snape had shown up at her place, telling her parents that Harry had wanted to speak to her that morning but that he had been delayed by a few chores so she had hurried over to speak to him.

Returning to the stables, she walked into the cool interior and towards the back of the building from where she could hear the two boys. Stopping in the shadow of the open doors, she realized they were at the horse washing station and could only gape in surprise as she took in the two half naked teenage boys who showed off their growing and quidditch enhanced bodies.

While she could appreciate Draco's pale skin and slight build, it was Harry's slightly more defined muscles and darker compared to Draco's skin that definitely caught her attention. Unable to remove her eyes from the sight, she was nearly drenched from the spigot before she realized she was still staring.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice hit a slightly higher octave as he scrambled to grab the nearby horse blanket to cover himself which he quickly threw off as he realized that the wool made his skin itch.

"H-Harry, Professor Snape said you were looking to talk to me this morning." She said, her eyes not on his face but on his chest. She had known that boys had breasts like she did but only flat, but some part of her had never noticed that they also had other things like nipples.

Swallowing hard, shocked to feel an odd tingling that she knew she was too young to be feeling yet, she blushed bright red and with a struggle raised her eyes to meet the emerald green eyes watching her.

"Evil sadistic bastard." Draco muttered before walking back to the other side of the stables and using his wand to dry off leaving his two Gryffindor classmates alone, feeling a bit unneeded to the conversation.

He was almost to the house when he heard "Harry James Potter, you did what?!" Shuddering at the anger he could hear all the way at the house, he hurried to his room to shower repeatedly.

SBATSBATSBAT

Sirius and Andromeda returned to the new Black estate, both still laughing at the insanity of teenage boys, with Andromeda reminding him that he had been worse.

Hearing how quiet things were, he grimaced and said "How likely is your daughter to curse me if she was forced to spend the entire morning watching Moony sleep?"

"It depends on her mood." Andromeda said as they crossed the foyer and entered the parlor only to stop dead at what they saw. A sleeping Remus Lupin wearing only his jeans and a sleeping auror wearing only her bra on top. Sirius wasn't sure what he was feeling, envious of his friend or anger that they had done what they had on his new sofa that he had dreamed of napping on first.

Moving forward to confront them, he stood when he saw the empty box of brownies and recalled what Severus had told them about the love potion brownies. Still, he was a marauder and there was no way he was going to allow a chance to harass him to pass.

"Stop!" Andromeda said as she moved to stand next to him. Pulling Sirius from the room, she said "Let them be."

"I think they christened my parlor." He said wearing a scowl."

Rolling her eyes, she said "My daughter is still wearing her knee high boots and trust me those jeans she is wearing are almost impossible to remove without using her wand. Even with magic she had to lay on her bed to zip them up. I think a bit of heavy snogging went on, but I really doubt that it went any further."

"Are you okay with this?" He asked looking at her a bit surprised at her attitude. He had been expecting to have to convince her that Moony was a great guy but she seemed almost happy.

"Do I wish he was younger? Yes. Do I wish that they were going to have a more conventional courtship? Yes. However, I know my daughter and I am rather sure that if she is sure of his feelings, she won't walk away or allow him to do so. In fact, I would make bets that it is she who ends up courting him." She replied with a shake of her head. "The thing is, she is my daughter and trust me when I say that he doesn't stand a chance."

"I said something similar last evening. I just wish that he hadn't eaten the tainted brownies, it will be the excuse he used to avoid just that." Sirius replied with shake of his head as he returned to the front door to go outside to apparate his cousin home.

"I am a grown women, Sirius, I don't need an escort." she reminded him.

"I know, but I think that this will work out better if I play that I don't know what happened here today." He replied before they returned to her house and then he went to the Malfoy manor where he put a quiet word in Severus' ear before asking where the Malfoys were?

"Narcissa hasn't returned from her shopping trip and Lucius went to fire some people." Severus said as he showed the other wizard his notes. "I think that we need to speak about what we are going to do once school starts regarding the Headmaster. I would be willing to bet that if this tournament had gone on, somehow, by hook or crook Harry would have landed smack daub in the middle of the entire mess."

LMLMLMLM

Lucius had just fired his head of Research and Development when his memory of that morning returned. Ordering his secretary to send out the letters he had requested, he went to the nearby wet bar, poured himself two fingers of scotch and sank onto his sofa muttering oh shit.

Gulping down the scotch, his brain replaying the sight of his wife removing her negligee and her rather intriguing offer that he had been unable to recall until that moment. Lucius was certain that as financially expensive as the day was going to be, the cost to his libido was going to be worse, much, much worse until his wife chose to allow him back into their bed.

Walking out the door, telling his secretary he was leaving for the day, he heard her statement regarding the Minister and said "I am unavailable."

On the public thoroughfare, he quickly entered his wife's favorite jewelry shop and hoped he could find something to at least ensure he was allowed in his bed that evening even as cold as it was sure to be.

Diamonds were dismissed, rubies as well knowing that they reminded her of Gryffindor colors, he thought about the nice emeralds but he felt that they were a bit trite. "Do you have anything new? Maybe a one of a kind piece?"

"Your wife was here earlier today, she did locate a lovely broach that the jeweler was considering making into a set." The man behind the counter stated.

"Show me." He ordered and once he had seen the drawings, he quickly placed an order for the necklace and ring to match only to be told it would at least four months.

Still ordering them but needing something more immediate, Lucius exited the store and went to her favorite boutique only to find out she had purchased a rather extensive amount there already, the same with the shoe store where he was given some very strange looks, but that he ignored. The perfumery, the robe shop but alas not the lingerie shop; thankfully he was skillful enough at getting himself out of trouble with his wife to know that buying her pretty lingerie when she was angry with him for something such as this would be a huge mistake.

Finding nothing to appease her anger, he crossed into the Leaky Cauldron and ended up running to the Weasley family or at least three of the sons who were having lunch. Grimacing, he hurried to the floo and hurried home.

Arriving in time to hear Severus and Black speaking about Albus he said "I have been thinking on what to do with that situation. I think that the best tactic is to do nothing. Allow the headmaster to show himself for who he really is. Harry is no longer his charge, if anything were to come up from here on out, there is entire group looking out for him and the those he might use to try and control the boy."

"I am still worried about how Harry is going to react to Molly Weasley when he finally sees her at his birthday party." Sirius stated. "I heard that Molly turned down attending the Longbottom boy's birthday party."

"You heard correctly. When she heard that Augusta Longbottom is going to host it in a muggle location, Molly returned her invite stating she had no intention of allowing her children to attend. I think that she is going to be even less thrilled with our plans for the children."

"Maybe her brood not attending is a good idea." Remus said from where he was standing, looking very relaxed to the bemusement of the others.

Informing him of the boy's folly, he shook his head and said "I will stay out of it. I have been the one whose prank has backfired before, so I have no business making judgments. I will let it all in your capable hands, Severus."

"After today, the boys might just think twice before doing anything so stupid again. Between what I am sure was Slughorn trying to collect the Boy Who Lived for his small clique and the Malfoy heir as well, I believe that Draco and Harry got the message."

"You missed the tour de force." Sirius said with a snicker. "Severus there decided that if Harry wanted to tell Hermione about what they did so bad, he would arrange for that to happen. He sent her to locate them AFTER they had cleaned the stables. From what good ole Sluggy said they looked like they had been rolling around in the manure by the time she arrived."

"Oh, that would explain Draco's mutterings when I saw him on his way to the kitchen a few minutes ago, calling you a sadistic and evil bastard." Remus said with a soft chuckle.

Lucius noticed how Severus puffed up with pride at that statement and said "Only you would take pleasure in bringing two teenage boys to their senses."

"I live to ruin their days." He replied then looking at the wizard who had only arrived a few minutes before and said "You need to go take a shower, Lupin. How the hell did you get chocolate...never mind."

"What?" Lupin asked when he saw the other wizard seemed torn between amusement and anger.

"I don't want to know so please lets forget I tried to mention anything." Severus said only for Lucius to stand and move in way too close to the wolf for his comfort.

"Uh, Lucius, could you back up a bit." Remus said taking a step back until he was against the wall only to notice that the other wizard had followed. "You know if I didn't know you were happily married, I would be rather nervous right now."

The blond wizard was staring intently at the various marks on the other wizard and absentmindedly said "Not so happily married, at least she isn't right now. Lupin, did you lose a battle with a vampire?"

Sirius couldn't help snickering when he saw the blush on his oldest friend's face before he suggested that Malfoy go sit down. "He is asking a legitimate question, Moony. Your neck and chest has several very interesting..."

"How do you know about...oh Merlin." Remus recalled how he had been awoken merely an hour ago and how when he had showered and dressed, he had noticed the various love bites that a certain rather aroused witch had left on his body. He had never been comfortable with such things, but when he had tried to deny his feelings for her, she had taken a rather unique approach to prove her point.

"Little Nymphie a bit of a nympho, Moony?" Sirius taunted only to get glared at. "Look, I am not complaining about what you two were doing on my sofa so you have to put up with the comment."

"The sofa?" Lucius replied with a glare at the two wizards.

"Don't mind Lucius, he is feeling rather jealous." Severus said with twitching lips as he looked at the blond. "Seems like his wife was in a mood similar to her niece's but a certain wizard only wanted to sleep."

The snickering in the room got louder and Lucius glared at Severus who said "Your wife came home earlier, mentioned something about not talking to you until Friday. I was told to tell you from her that you were sleeping on the sofa from now until the day Draco graduates Hogwarts."

Lucius felt his jaw drop. "What?"

"Yes, I don't think it was totally about you. I uh, spoke to Minerva this afternoon and she mentioned something about a run in between your wife and Delores Umbridge that was rather ugly and ended with your wife threatening to never shop at a certain store again."

"My day only needed this." Lucius said as he heard Draco and Harry leaving to join Hermione for dinner at the Grangers. Wishing he dare refuse them going, wanting a bit of his own back after their prank had killed any chance of his ever having a love life for the foreseeable future, Lucius looked at the others and said "Life sucks and I have decided what the boy's second punishment is going to be."

"Do I want to know?" Remus asked looking too sated for the blond's tastes. He had no idea that nothing had gone that far, but in Lucius' imagination, Remus had gotten everything he had unknowingly rejected that morning.

"Probably not as it revolves around the little vampire who attacked you today." Lucius smugly replied as he crossed his arms and glared at the fireplace. "Wait, where is my wife?"

"Dinner with Pomfrey and McGonagall. My guess is that by the end of the week the whole world knows why your wife attacked Umbridge, here is hoping that they don't discover that it was also the result of sexual frustration." Severus snickered.

"Hey, at least I have a chance at having sex again, Snape." Lucius taunted.

"Want to bet on it?" Severus smirked. "A galleon that I have sex before you do."

"Not taking that bet." Lucius replied. "You will just go pick up one of those unhappily married wives who hang out at that muggle club and use your voice to get them into your bed. No, I will suffer in silence, of course a certain couple of teenage boys will be suffering right along with me. Starting tonight, I think that as long as I am forbidden to sleep in my bed, they will be too. Maybe a camping trip or better yet, a late night spent looking at the stars."

As Lucius went on and on regarding his choices, Severus saw Sirius hiding his need to laugh at the so called adult who was acting as if his life was at an end just because his wife was angry with him.

WWWWWWWWW

The Weasley family was sitting down for dinner, the twins talking in an excited tone to their father about the suggestions that Bill had made to them regarding their future business ideas.

When Molly poo-pooed the idea of them owning their own joke shop, Arthur to her surprise announced that he thought that was a great idea.

"They should be smart, go work for the Ministry like you did." She stated with a slight scowl at her eldest son and his father.

"Molly, the boys should do what they are best at, what they have an aptitude for and for the twins it is creating mayhem. If they can get paid to do this, all the better for them." Arthur replied.

Ron was seated at the end of the table, still glaring at his father in regards to his not allowing them to use the spare Malfoy tickets to the world cup. He had been unhappy to hear that Hermione of all people was going when she didn't even like the game yet, he who lived for Quidditch would not be attending.

Looking at Ginny who was unhappy in regards to their mother refusing to allow them to attend Neville's birthday party on Saturday because it was being held in the muggle world, but Ron really didn't care, after all he didn't consider that being in that world the be all end all that his father would have. Still, the thought of cake and fancy foods would have been rather nice.

His mother was also angry about Harry's birthday party and had been furious to know that it was also being held in the muggle world, even if it was at Hermione's parents home. His father had refused to allow her to reject that invite, but he was almost certain that she hadn't sent back the odd note that requested she do so if she was going to attend. Who sent out notes like that, seriously, it wasn't like the Grangers were some old pureblood family who had to observe such niceties.

Tuning back into the adults conversation he pouted as he heard that the twins had had lunch with Bill at the Leaky Cauldron while he had been stuck eating leftovers and degnoming the garden.

"We saw Fudge with his old Undersecretary, Umbridge there and Malfoy was there using the floo." George was saying.

"Oh, hey I forgot to mention, we ran into Oliver Wood, he was placed on the Puddlemere United reserve team." Fred finished speaking and then looking at Bill added "If you are here, we have got to show you how incredibly Harry is on a broom."

"Too bad his birthday party is being usurped by those muggles." Molly mourned. "We could have had a pickup quidditch game here as part of his party. I mean, did you read that invitation, I have never even heard of any of those games that those muggles mentioned. I am rather sure that the children are going to bored. Poor Harry, stuck doing this just because that Granger girl is the Vesta this year."

At the Grangers, Harry had calmed down Hermione regarding their plan by telling her what they had actually done to Remus. She wasn't happy but at least was accepting that a bit of singing and reciting poetry would not hurt anyone.

"Anyhow, what I, we wanted to talk to you about is Luna Lovegood. She is going to be at Neville's birthday party this weekend. Turns out that Draco does know her." Harry said from his spot on the sofa next to her.

"Really?" Hermione asked looking at the blond who nodded but didn't seem to want to explain then it hit her. "Draco, am I going to have to punch you in the nose again?"

"No, nothing like that. I mean, I teased her once, but she just ignored it and said something strange like that fluttery giblets were flying around my head and that that was why I was always so mad all the time. Its not any fun to harass someone if they don't play their part." He replied. "Anyhow, I saw her again this year when she uh, well let's just say that you weren't the only person mad at me about that stupid hippogrif, okay?"

"I thought she was a second year student?" She asked. "How would she know Buckbeak or Hagrid."

"It's Luna, she seems to know everyone." Draco said with a slight shrug. "Look, she is different in an odd sort of way. Still, she was also nice to me and I sort of freaked out on her. It was like she knew the real reason I overreacted to that beast. Anyhow, she sort of..."

When Draco didn't finish, Hermione looked at Harry who shrugged and said "He won't tell me either, he simply ended the sentence right in the middle. If I didn't know better I would think he sort of likes her."

"However, you do know better, Potter." Draco said in a sharp tone that showed his clear uneasiness. "It's difficult to explain about Luna."

"I will take your word on it." Hermione offered as she wondered the same thing as Harry. "Anyhow, I did want to tell you, that Mom sent out the invites and almost everyone RSVPed, except the Weasleys. She did get a note from the twins, but they only reserved for themselves, something about Molly not wanting them to attend because it is at a muggle house and that it isn't safe."

"I would just assume that they are coming, it's the Weasleys they always show up and are always late." Draco said with a slight shrug. "Harry and I were talking to Severus about the plans for later this summer. Has your mom and dad mentioned anything yet?"

"Oh, yes, I got to choose one place to visit as a surprise for Harry." Hermione said as she practically trembled with excitement.

"It's not a library is it?" Draco asked cautiously.

"NO! It's not a library, Malfoy. It's practically the most fun you can have on the entire isle of Britain in the muggle world. I think that all of those who attend will love it." She replied with a huge grin on her face.

Harry vowed to love it, just because Hermione did while Draco was debating between never having a girlfriend to avoid looking like a love struck fool as Potter did and envying him finding someone who saw him for him. "All of Britain, that has got to be a pretty impressive spot, Granger. Here is hoping it lives up to it's hype."

TBC

Angry Narcissa learns the truth.

Vesta Dinner party at the Malfoys.

Lucius decided that the boys are going to go camping with him.


	17. Oddly Structured Family

A/N: I have a charity event this weekend and a book festival so you won't be getting the next chapter until at least Monday or Tuesday. Also if you haven't please go read the opening author's note for Frozen Melting Hearts. I have a question there that I hope more of you will answer in regards to my various half finished stories. 

Chapter Seventeen: An Oddly Structured Family

Lucius was upset when he finally went to bed, Narcissa was still not home, in fact she had sent an owl telling him not to wait up for her. Severus had left for the night, having returned to Hogwarts to see what he could find out. Black and Lupin had returned to his house not long after the boys had returned from the Granger house.

He had considered starting his plot that evening, but on the odd chance his wife returned and in a better mood than when she had left, he wanted to be there, just in case...

Instead he had fallen asleep by in their great big bed, feeling a little sorry for himself for what he had missed that morning and for what he knew he would be missing until his wife forgave his mistake.

Narcissa entered the wards, sure that Lucius was aware she was home, but still not ready to forgive him even if her sister of all people had owled her with a note to explain the unexplainable. She had chuckled for a few minutes but her mind wouldn't let her forget the small sense of rejection she had experienced from Lucius.

Entering Draco's room to find him fast asleep, she tucked the covers up over his bare shoulders and pressed a kiss to his forehead before whispering she loved him. Exiting his room, making sure the door was closed tight, she was heading towards her own room when she decided to check on Harry.

She knew that Sirius and Remus along with Severus often checked up on the boy, even rotating turns so as to not make him feel self conscious, but still, she just wanted to make sure he was okay.

Easing the door open, she was a bit surprised to see the dark haired boy was wide awake and sitting in the window seat staring out at the stars. With a soft knock, she eased inside and walked over to speak to him. "Having a hard time sleeping, Harry?"

The boy turned to look her way, then rubbing his sleep deprived eyes, he said "Nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She inquired as she sat on the opposite end of the large window seat unconsciously mimicking the way her son had been seated the day before.

"Not really." He admitted then looking at her said "My life sucked before Hogwarts, but I never had nightmares. Now my life is much better, but they come with the added problem of bad dreams."

"What do you dream about?" She asked with a slight frown.

"What don't I dream about?" He repeated sounding a bit bitter unaware that they had gained another set of ears. "Trolls killing Hermione, dead unicorns, baby dragons turning into adult dragons and killing people. Giant talking spiders that try to kill me. A basilisk sinking it's fang into my arm. That's not even mentioning the dreams of Tom Riddle, the dementors and nightmares of falling off my broom and dying."

"Have you talked about the dreams? I know you finally opened up with your godfathers about your past, but have you tried to discuss it with them? I know it's not the same, but when the last war ended, Lucius would have terrible nightmares. We spent many a night talking about them."

"Hermione does listen sometimes but she has gained her own nightmares. Did you know that when you are petrified, you can hear others around you talking. That it is like being a living statue." He asked softly. "Madam Pomfrey kept chasing me out of the infirmary telling me that I was wasting my time talking to her, but she HEARD ME. I sometimes wonder about Justin, Penny and Colin, if they had anyone talking to them and what they felt and saw."

"Harry, none of this was your fault. You are not responsible for every single thing that goes wrong at Hogwarts." She gently stated trying to get him to face he was not the problem. "It was the responsibility of the adults around you to protect yourself and your fellow classmates. I know that Minerva McGonagall has deep regrets about not listening to you that first year regarding the stone."

He gave her a small smile and said "I know, she told me. I just...I just get the feeling that the Headmaster has his own plan for my life and that my wishes and wants don't matter to him. Oh, he says they do but why would he send me to my aunt's house without supervision? Why would he do half the things he does and why keep me in the dark about so much of my own life?"

"I honestly don't know, Harry but I assure you that there are quite a few people out there who disagree with his choices and who intend to prevent him from manipulating you any further." She stated in a firm tone.

"I am grateful for that. It feels almost like being part of a real family." He said with a slight reddish tinge to his face. "I mean, an oddly structured family, but one that is uniquely mine."

"You are, you know, part of this family." She gently said brushing his hair off his forehead. Placing her forefinger on his lightning bolt scar, she said "This is a simple mark on your body, it doesn't define who you are or what you can do with your life. As long as you stand up for yourself, no one can take that away from you."

"May I ask you something?" He said looking her way. When she nodded yes, he asked "Did you know my mom?"

"Barely, we were in different years and different houses at school, but I knew of her from Severus." She answered. "What little I do recall is that she was beautiful even as a first year. You know how everyone tells you how much you resemble your father?"

When he nodded yes, she said "Your father had an aristocratic sort of look to him, but you, you have a part of your mother's natural beauty. It's not only your looks, but what is inside that shines through."

Seeing the teenager blush, she said "Don't ever change or let them turn you cynical Harry James Potter. You will learn as you age to distinguish between friend and foe, will learn to watch out for those who want a part of you for yourself or who want you for their own goals, but for now, just enjoy being you, let us watch out for you now."

"It's hard to do. I have always had to look out for myself." He admitted.

"Severus was like that when I first met him. He had a rough childhood too." She said. "Lucius would rather be tortured than admit it, but he found himself feeling protective over him from the moment he met him. I know that you remind him of Severus even if he won't admit it, but you had this internal stubbornness that drives him insane because it reminds him of someone else."

"Who? My father?" He asked.

She chuckled and said "No, himself. Lucius has always been one of the most pigheaded stubborn men I have ever met in my life and considering I was born a Black that is saying something. Severus makes his stubbornness look like he is an amateur."

Lowering his head, he said "I am sorry about stunning him last night."

"Want to know a secret?" She asked and when he looked up, she giggled and said "I wish I had seen you get the drop on those two particular wizards. I am rather sure that their pride was smarting most of the day because of it. You are going to be a very talented young wizard when you grow up, Harry. You are already a strong but your core will grow as you do and frankly I am rather glad we are on the same side."

"Are we?" He asked and when she nodded yes, he asked "I am rather glad."

"Me too, Harry. Me too. Now I am rather wired, what do you say to a cup of hot cocoa and I will tell you how I squashed a toad today." she asked.

Lucius went back to bed, a sense of peace filling his tortured soul even as his body groaned at the loss of his future sex life. Tomorrow he would talk to his wife, see if they could come to an agreement because even if she was angry with him, he still missed her presence. The sound of her heartbeat had lulled him to sleep now for almost twenty years and he missed it when it wasn't there.

"So, I saw her in the shoe store trying on a pair of these ridiculous pink heels with a rhinestone bow." Narcissa was telling Harry as they drank their cocoa. "She was wearing this green dress which looked like a toad wearing a pink cardigan, it was a rather unfortunate choice but then she rather stupidly began to complain about Hermione being the Vesta choice. This after going on and on about werewolves and how her kind are being pushed out of her world."

"Oh boy." Harry's eyes went wide at the sudden coldness of Narcissa's voice.

"Oh boy is right. First of all, she is someone who would never be considered for the Society because of her nasty attitude, add in that she only graduated with owls, she failed all of her newts and I still don't understand how she got a position in the ministry. Lucius has a few theories but I disagree with them, mainly because I can't imagine a single male wanting to have sex with her in the first place."

"Maybe she blackmailed them." He said with a shrug only to see her almost choke on her hot drink. "I am just saying..."

"No, no it's just that was what Severus said when we talked about it recently. Either way, she has been working her way up into a power of position using personal favors, blackmail and plain old lying to get her way."

"Why hasn't anyone done anything about it?" Harry asked.

"Most would like to, but she has been too close to Fudge until recently. Anyhow, as I said she was complaining about Hermione being the Vesta choice in my hearing. I suggested that maybe if she had bothered to study a little harder while in school they might have considered her, but that it was doubtful considering there were a few more requirements."

Harry waited, he could see the gleeful smirk that so reminded him of Draco and knew that she was about to let the toad have it. "So, anyhow, I continued to speak and said that they had to be pure of soul, smart, caring and of course the most important requirement of all... they had to be human and not amphibians."

Narcissa smirked again then said "She was rather offended and threatened to tell my husband how rude I was. I pretended to be worried then inquired about her own husband, knowing she had never so much as been engaged let alone married then when her back was turned, transfigured a pair of slippers on the shelf into toads and had them ribbiting at her."

She chuckled and said "You should have seen her face when she saw them and I played innocent when she accused me of creating them. I then suggested that maybe, just maybe if she wished really hard and kissed them one of them might turn into her prince."

"Ouch." Harry knew that one had to piss this toad woman off.

"Oh, it was worse than that, I charmed one of the toads to jump onto her and in a case of rather unfortunate timing, she was opening her mouth retaliate against me and ended up with a mouth full of toad tongue. I should mention that by now we had drawn a pretty good size crowd including a reporter for Witch Weekly who loathes Delores. He snapped a photo and when she demanded he give her the film, he refused. I stepped in and next thing I knew, the toad decided to try and hex me."

"The aurors showed up and arrested her but I expect her to eventually try and confront me again." She said with a winning smirk on her face. "Now, I might not be my sister but I am no slouch when it comes to using my wand. I was thinking a nice transfiguration back to her natural state and a trip to the muggle zoo just might be in line for her.

"What if she tries to retaliate?" Harry asked.

"Against who? She might be foolish to do so, but it will be her last mistake. Who else is there for her to go after? Hermione who already has enough clout to quash her like the toad she is. You? She isn't that foolish. She will loss her job for the insults to the Goblins. Who else would be foolish to hire her?"

"Dumbledore." Harry muttered. "After all, he hired Lockhart."

"Lockhart passed his NEWTS, Lucius looked into it when he was hired." Narcissa stated. "How he passed, my husband doesn't know, but he did."

Excerpts

Remus had joined Dora for coffee and after a few rather stuttering sentences, they found themselves reaching an accord in regards to any future relationship. They were going to take a step back and go very slowly forward. It been awkward but they had laid their hopes and dreams on the line.

Remus had explained that he had responsibilities in regards to Harry and she had mentioned how she wanted to be an auror, but not only any old auror but to someday be one of the best.

He had asked her to join him in escorting Harry and the others when she was free so that she could get comfortable with his family and she had quickly agreed.

Vesta

Hermione and Narcissa had been very busy, choosing flowers and table clothes, going through the myriad assortment of dish patterns that were contained in the Malfoy family china pantry.

When Hermione had expressed exasperation at the hundreds of different patterns, Narcissa had given her a knowing smirk and stated that she was rather sure the Potter family had even more, after all they were an even older magical family than the Malfoys and had been owned a manor house for over nine hundred years.

The teenager had flushed and Narcissa as a woman married to a very handsome man herself understood that whatever the young girl had been thinking of, it wasn't dishes so she gently pried the information out of her.

She was sure that giving Hermione a glimpse of the potential attractiveness of her future was not what Severus had had planned when he had sent the young girl to the stables, but it was becoming clear that it wasn't only emotions involved already between the two teenagers but that sexual yearnings were slowly growing as well.

VESTA

Lucius looked at his staff, his sexual frustration of the last few days having sharpened his senses and demanded answers. Most had been turned into blubbering messes but one younger staff member, who was there as an assistant seemed to hesitate then raised his hand.

His gray eyes staring at this odd motion, Lucius asked "Who are you and what on earth are you doing?"

"I uh, wasn't sure how to speak. I figured raising my hand might be best." He replied. "I am Devon Clearwater."

"Not the worst idea I have ever heard." Lucius stated and then when Devon's supervisor tried to fire him, he intervened and asked what the issue was.

"Sorry sir, but his being hired was a mistake, He is only a muggleborn that someone in Human Resources mistakenly hired, he has no idea how this company works and how LUCKY he is to be working here." The middle-aged man in the silk robes said glaring at the younger wizard.

"Clearly there has been a mistake, but I doubt it was made by Human Resources." Lucius said then looking at the wizard standing in front of him, he could see the subtle signs of differences in how he dressed compared to the other assistants and vice presidents. "Now, perhaps Mr. Clearwater you would tell me your idea."

"It's well, it's rather simple, sir. Your company is stagnating because you have positioned yourself as the traditional and never changing choice in the marketplace. The problem with that is, that without innovation and new products, eventually you stagnate. Without growth, without fresh new completely out there ideas, you no longer lead, you follow."

Gulping some water from a glass, already expecting to be fired, Devon continued "I mean, the newest products in the muggle world are computers, boxes that have the ability to hold entire libraries in them, boxes that can replace mail that takes hours to arrive to electronic mail which arrives instantly. There is so much new technology arriving daily as a result of the small as my thumb processor that muggles invented that in ten year the world will probably look very different."

"Even now if a muggle from twenty five years ago were to come out of a coma, the world is very different than the one that they lost saw. In the magical world, someone could come out of said a hundred year old coma and nothing really would have changed. Yes, traditions are great, but I have been to America and the Pan-Pacific sir, there their magical traditions are respected but they have embraced technology. It's why their companies have moved to the top of the list of best and most powerful businesses in the magical world, sir."

Lucius stared at this kid, barely shaving and then around the room at the others sitting at the conference table. Most were staring in disgust at Clearwater, others were staring in glee between Clearwater and himself, clearly expecting him to fire the muggleborn.

"Get out." He said and when no one moved but Elgin Avery who was attempting to escort Devon Clearwater from the room he said "Not Clearwater, the rest of you assistants. Move it."

Once the assistants had left, he looked at Clearwater and said "Where would you start? What product? This box you were telling me about?"

"I would start small sir. Maybe with something simple like fountain pens." He answered.

"What is a fountain pen?" Lucius asked. When Clearwater reached into his pocket and with a shaking hand gave him a smooth metal tube with a pointed edge at the end, he lifted it, noticing how the end resembled a quill nib and asked "What does this do?"

"It writes with ink, similar to a quill but doesn't need to be replaced as often except maybe the nib once a year." He answered.

"Why not start with this box thing?" He asked.

"It would be too jarring for most magicals, sir. Start with the fountain pen, work up to some sort of magical version of a phone, then maybe a television sir, which is a magical version of wireless radio that shows plays sort of."

"I am aware of what a television is, Mr. Clearwater." He said then pointed out the obvious. "However, there is the minor problem of electronics not working around magic."

"Sir, that isn't necessarily true anymore. I looked it up when I was at Hogwarts, that was discovered in the early forties back when those electronics used vacuum tubes to run, now days they run on small transistors. I know that back in the forties muggle devices didn't work near Diagon Alley, now they do and that is because of the new technology."

Lucius looked at his staff, saw most of them were still glaring at the younger man. He was going to have to create a new division if he wanted this to work without interference from his current staff which did well at their jobs, just were lousy at innovation. "Mr. Clearwater, I want a report on my desk in a week on how we can start to produce these fountain pens. Oh, and you were just promoted to head of a new division and report only to myself. Everyone else dismissed."

Once the room emptied, Lucius suggested Clearwater hire his staff from the muggleborn or half bloods raised in the muggle world. "How many people do you think you will need? More importantly how long before you begin to turn a profit."

"It depends sir. If we import muggle made products, a small staff is all that is necessary. With the pens this is more than feasible." He replied.

"Let me see a report regarding both methods. Importation and what it would take to create a manufacturing plant. Regarding importation, I want a list of the best companies and some of their product to look at as well." Lucius left his office, stopped to speak to his secretary and ordered her to set up Clearwater in the empty office down the hall from his. "Oh and Tulip, I mean the corner office, no sticking him in a broom closet or something similar."

VESTA

It was finally Friday and the entire house hold was preparing for the meal to be served that evening. The dishes had been chosen, the flowers arranged, the house elves had cleaned the formal dining room from top to bottom until everything in it sparkled.

Narcissa had gone over her checklist again and again as she nervously awaited Harry finishing his morning school assignments. Severus and Remus had insisted on his doing so, pointing out that as of the next week, Harry would often be busy with his forays into the magical and muggle worlds.

Looking at her guest list, which originally had included the typical evening guests at the Malfoy home, but with several very important additions. Writing the names on her place cards in perfect calligraphy, she placed them on the counter to dry. Double checking them, she placed the small mark on Remus Lupin's card as it had dried first to indicate drink preferences for the house elves, she attached it to the napkin ring. One down and thirteen to go.

That left her husband, her son, Harry and her cousin Sirius. Severus and Hermione. Boudacia Pomfrey was attending, as were Minerva McGonagall, Augusta Longbottom, her grandson Neville along with Amelia Bones and her niece to even out the numbers of the younger guests a bit.

Hearing footsteps, she saw Harry entering the kitchen carrying the book with their previously agreed upon menu and a vase with a single white rose. When she thanked him for the flower, he blushed and said "Tonks sent it to Remus, but he couldn't take it to the lab with him so I agreed to keep it here."

Shaking her head at the complete role reversal courtship between her niece and a certain Hogwarts professor, she looked at Harry and asked "What do you think of Remus being asked to teach again this year?"

"I don't think that it was the Headmaster's idea and I think he isn't going to be happy." Harry said with a shake of his head as he helped her get started but as he was only there to advise, she went to start the the shrimp. An hour later, the seafood was in the fridge, cooling while she prepared as much beforehand as she possibly could.

When Hermione arrived, carrying a garment bag, Topsy took it to the room she would be changing in then directed the young teenager to join the mistress in the kitchen where she was finishing off the spinach dip for the bread sticks and checking on the new dessert that Harry had suggested making so as to not remind a certain two wizards how upset they were with Draco and himself.

"What do you need me to do?" Hermione asked and was soon supervising the house elves as they set the table with the appropriate dinner set, silver and glassware. When the lovely purple and gold taper candles were put in the candelabras, she stepped back to admire the work the house elves had done.

In the kitchen, Harry saw a small shadow that kept appearing and disappearing and told Draco's mom he would be right back. Outside in the rose garden, he softly called out Dobby's name and when the house elf appeared, he questioned him and was quickly told that Dobby had located the missing paintings of James and Lily.

"Where are they Dobby?" He asked biting his lip.

"Theys be in Mr. Headmaster's office in Belgium, Master Harry Potter sir." He said twisting his fingers as he gave him the rest of the news. "Theys bes behind strong wards I can't get through."

"Thank you, Dobby." He said as he pulled out a galleon from his pocket and when the hyperactive house elf tried to refuse payment, Harry told him it was to buy himself more socks. The small elf took it and with a large grin promised to show Harry all he would get before popping out sight.

Harry entered the kitchen to find Hermione and Narcissa discussing any changes in who sat where and found it hard not to laugh in spite of the bad news Dobby had given him as the two witches tried to figure out why Severus was being requested as a seat mate by several of the guests.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"Madam Pomfrey and Amelia Bones both requested to sit next to him earlier this week which I felt was appropriate, but now, I have been sent a missive from Augusta Longbottom and then Professor McGonagall flooed over to ask for the same. If they were younger I would think that they were interested in him." She said looking puzzled.

Harry had no idea and was not going to offer an opinion, he was already in enough trouble with the man. Classes that week had been very interesting, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts, in which he had had to repeatedly defend himself against sneak attacks.

When he had complained, the older wizard had simply muttered something about constant vigilance which had Remus and Sirius both falling over in hysterical laughter. He had given up asking them what it was about but Sirius had promised to explain later on.

"I say we go with our original settings and just put Professor McGonagall next to your husband as you originally planned. Though, maybe placing Neville's grandmother next to Sirius should be reconsidered." Hermione suggested. When Narcissa nodded in agreement, the teenager returned to the dining room and set up the place cards as discussed.

"How long?" Narcissa anxiously asked.

"Three hours. Draco should be finished with his transfiguration assignment by now, I am going to see if he is interested in going flying." Harry stated only to be yanked back by the belt.

"Oh no, neither of you are to be anywhere near a broom. No way I am going either of you getting hurt." Narcissa said with narrowed eyes. "Why don't you two play a nice safe game of chess."

Nodding, Harry raced to the lower level and located Draco exiting the makeshift classroom with Remus who when he heard what had been suggested chuckled and suggested that today, anything Narcissa wanted, they should do.

"What I don't get is how you escaped having to be here this afternoon?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

"Thankfully I had an invite to a slightly more terrifying appointment. An interrogation by my potential future in laws." Remus replied with a slightly wolfish grin that had Harry scowling. "I will be back in time to keep an eye on Sirius this evening, though."

"Let's go play chess, Harry before my mother losses it." Draco said with a shrug. Once in the library, he set up the chess set and told Harry he would have to use his father's pieces.

When the dark haired boy groaned, Draco said "The pieces I am using belonged to my grandfather and they act like I am an idiot."

"Let's just pretend to play and instead you can tell me your plan for the Lovegood girl." Harry suggested.

"It's simple. Right now, she has no backup, no one on her side. If people see her with you and I, along with Hermione and Longbottom, they will start to realize she isn't defenseless. The only ones who won't back off might be Edgecome and her lot but I think that Cho might learn to think twice because she is sure to be the prefect this year." Draco replied as he moved a piece only for it to ask if he was sure he wanted to do that.

"Yes, you stupid pawn. I wanted to move you to that square." Draco said in a cold tone. "So this party for Longbottom, I heard it has a maze in it."

"Hermione showed me the map of it. It's on an estate that used to belong to Henry the VIII, former muggle king of England. If I recall right, he had six wives." He replied.

"Six?" Draco asked shuddering. "How on earth did he manage that, my father messes up with only one wife."

"I don't think he was married to them all at once, Draco." He relied. Then thinking on it said "Wow, could you imagine it, six wives? At the same time?"

"No, thankfully in the magical world, it is one spouse at a time. I am not sure you can even remarry if you get divorced as long as your former spouse is alive." Draco said.

As time elapsed, Harry went to the kitchen and helped Narcissa and Hermione finish off her meal and then watched as the house elves put it under a stasis charm. After repeated thanks from both Hermione and Narcissa, Harry escaped. Up in his room, he was soon dressed in the charcoal gray dress pants with a black strip down the side and black dress shirt with the dark dark gray tie that had appeared in his closet.

Hearing footsteps, he turned expecting Sirius and thankfully it was his godfather who chuckled at Harry's attempt to fix his tie. "How do you manage the ones at Hogwarts?"

"Neville sets them up at the beginning of the school year for me and I don't undo them more than enough to remove them." Harry replied as he stood still while his godfather fixed his tie and then handed him his dress robes. "Have you seen Hermione? I wanted to give her something."

"She was with Narcissa in the parlour when I arrived. You know that her parents aren't going to be here, they had some sort of emergency. Her father asked me to stand in for him." Sirius announced before fixing his own dress robes and stopping Harry from exiting the bedroom, did the best he could with the boy's eternally messy hair.

"Don't bother, Sirius. If my hair didn't shout escaped mental patient, no one would ever believe it was me." He said with a heavy sigh. "How did my dad's hair always look so good in the photos?"

Sirius looked at Harry then asked "Harry are you aware that you own Sleakeazy Hair potion."

"I do? I didn't see any in the bathroom." He said as they walked down the certain staircase only to be stopped on the bottom stair.

"No, I mean, you own the company that sells it. Your great grandfather invented it because of the various issues with unruly hair that is as much a part of your family as your glasses." He said with a smile at his godson.

"Really?" Harry asked. "That is probably a good thing, I mean, just think when Hermione and I get older, our kids will have the most unruly hair in both the magical and muggle worlds. Otherwise I would probably go bankrupt some day."

The two witches standing nearby looked at Harry and then Amelia Bones greeted Sirius and his godson before formally introducing Susan to the older man and then she asked "What were the two of you just talking about? What would bankrupt you?"

They had arrived in the main parlor and Harry saw Hermione coming his way and quickly reached out to hold her hand to try and avoid answering the question. "Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, but only a moment. Narcissa is very nervous, plus I am forbidden to step outside without permission since this is a Vesta event." She warned as she saw his eyes on her purple tea length toga dress which was a few shades lighter than the ones that the full fledged Vesta witches were wearing.

"Before you go..." Susan asked rather curious as to what Harry had been talking about earlier.

"Oh it's nothing. Sirius was just telling me about a part of my inheritance. My great grandfather invented Sleakeazy Hair products to deal with the infamous Potter unruly hair and I was saying that it was a good thing I own it because between Hermione and my hair, our children will someday more than likely spend a fortune on it." He said with a small shrug, missing how the his young girlfriend had blushed several deep shades of red when the Bones girl let out a small giggle at that news.

Harry was still holding Hermione's hand as they stepped out into the now empty corridor. "HARRY!"

Looking at Hermione, he noticed her blush and said "What did I miss?"

"Shouldn't that be my statement." She asked. "You were already discussing future hypothetical children we are going to have. Don't you think that maybe that we should tell people we like each other first before already planning our family."

When he stuttered an apology, she only giggled and then said "Though, you are right, between the two of us, any future children are going to be very unlucky in the hair department. I can see me now, trying to brush out hair with my curls and your insanity every night before bedtime."

When he grinned at her and then pulled a small wrapped package out of the pocket of his robe, she said "Harry, you didn't have to get me a present."

"Open it." He said softly as he watched intently as she did just that. Gulping as she lifted the lid to the jewelry box, he heard her gasp and say oh, so looking in her eyes, he saw she was thrilled with what was inside. "I did some research, well Draco and I did. He wanted to get his mom something since this is the night she receives her formal induction into the order and I wanted to do something similar for you."

Hermione lifted the simple broach that would act as a clasp on her toga and handed it to him to pin in place. The unusual design was that of an hour glass with small grains of sand eternally dropping. "Thank you, Harry, it is beautiful."

When he had pinned it on, he said "I saw it and immediately thought of you and the night we rescued Sirius. I always knew you were a girl, but that night...that night I realized you were so much more to me. I just never thought that I had any right to tell you how without you in my life I don't believe that the life I would be leading would be worth much. You, Hermione Jane Granger are the smartest witch of your generation, the glue that keeps our trio centered, but as I said, you see me as Harry Potter and most importantly, I see the you that others see and more, so much more."

With that he leaned in and lifting her hand pressed a kiss to it. Enfolding her fingers into his, he said "The simple act of holding you hand touches me in ways that I don't have the words to tell you. The sound of you saying my name, even when you are ready to let me have it for something I have done, is never used to torment me but only to get my attention. I have many people in my life now that care for me, but you, you were the first and to me the one who truly is the other half of my soul."

"Oh Harry." She wiped the tear falling and found herself pulling his hands to her heart and could only lay her head against his. "You have no idea..."

"I just want you to know, Vesta apprenticeship or not, nothing will change your place in my heart." He replied with a soft smile. "Now, we had better get back inside before someone notices we are missing."

A tall dark haired wizard who had come to tell the teenagers that they should have stayed in the room found himself ducking back inside himself and leaning against the mantle with a soft expression on his face that had several of the guests giving him second and third glances in shock.

"You are unnerving my wife's guests, Severus." Lucius said as he approached the wizard. "What has you smiling vacuously like a member of the Weasley family?"

"Let's just say that a certain almost fourteen year old has any of the adult males in this room beat in regards to winning the heart of his chosen lady." Severus said shaking his head to clear away the softness he was feeling. "I will show you in the pensive later, but let me just say, that Harry James Potter might look like his father, but he so has his own way with words."

As the guests heard the dinner chime, Narcissa looked at Hermione and saw her new piece of jewelry and the almost painful glow that seemed to surround her and couldn't help thinking recalling being fourteen again.

As Lucius led in Professor McGonagall to dinner as the most prominent of their guests, Narcissa placed her hand on her cousin's arm and said "Am I to gather that young Harry finally told Hermione how he feels without magical interference?"

"Yes, he found a broach he wanted to give her and intended on doing so today. I am guessing from the large grin on his face as he led in Augusta Longbottom that she said yes to being his girlfriend." Sirius whispered as he sat down his cousin in her spot and took the one to her right leaving Harry to sit on her left as the next highest ranking wizard. His godson had been rehearsing what to say to Hermione for days and from the looks of things he had gotten it right.

Once the guests were seated, the house elves brought in the cold appetizer which was shrimp cocktail. This was soon followed by the Cesaer salad with the bread sticks.

Narcissa kept an experienced eye on her guests and when she saw Boudacia Pomfrey with an almost gloating smirk on her face as she looked at Minerva McGonagall, she kept an blank face even as she saw the older woman touching Severus' arm then drink a sip of the delightful elf made wine her husband had chosen to be paired with the course.

Hermione seemed to be almost floating every time she looked at Harry and the Bones girl was flirting with Neville Longbottom who seemed a bit out of his depth with her. Looking at Draco who was seated on the other side of Hermione, she saw that he seemed almost trying not to laugh at whatever Susan was saying to the shy Longbottom boy.

When Amelia's niece turned to Draco as the next course was brought in, Narcissa's eyes moved on to where her husband was talking to Minerva McGonagall. She watched as the elderly woman cautiously took a bite of her chicken primavera and then pulled back to give it a quizzical glance.

Noticing Boudacia, Augusta and Amelia Bones all doing the same, she was about to panic when the rather bold Boudacia sat down her fork, looked towards her end of the table and said "Shocking, absolutely shocking. Potter, if you can manage to teach someone who didn't even know that they had a kitchen how to cook this good, you should go into business doing so."

A bit thrown at the backhanded compliment, Narcissa was about to answer when what she said next had Sirius pretending to cough as he covered for his need to laugh. "Damme, Amelia, and here I sat next to Snape in case of rapidly needing a poison antidote. Sorry to have distracted your potential boy toy, but I promise, he is all yours."

Narcissa saw that her husband desperately wanted to laugh and that Susan Bones and Neville were looking between her aunt and Snape with completely appalled expressions on their faces. Harry was struggling not to laugh when Boudacia struck again, this time looking at Remus and saying "So, does being a former werewolf help in the stamina department? I certainly hope so with that young woman you are taking on. She seems like the sort to strap herself in and go for a nice long ride. Too bad I wasn't fifty years younger, I might give her a little competition. I always did like my men a bit hairy."

Remus choked as his skin turned a nice shade of red while Lucius, Sirius and Severus dived for their wine glasses. Narcissa saw that her son was staring at the elderly woman in horror which to Narcissa's regret she noticed.

"You young people, I blame Hogwarts for how namby pampy you all are turning out. Comes from a man so sexually repressed he can't even admit that he wants a nice strapping man to curl up to at night. Honesty, simply good old fashioned honesty about things works so much better. Find a mate, tell them you want them and if they agree, perform a little bit of bedroom magic and pow, life is so much more fun." She said.

"Boudacia, I do believe you have had enough wine this evening." Augusta stated from her spot at the table. When the older woman looked like she was ready to protest, Augusta said "Either be quiet or go home."

Looking chastened, Boudacia did as ordered while Augusta looked at Narcissa and said "Unfortunately wine acts as a truth serum for her. Your great aunt once used a spell to sew her lips together after a particularly embarrassing moment back when we were still debutantes."

Minerva saw that Severus had tensed up and was now unable to look at Amelia Bones and felt bad for the rather potions master. She had seen Amelia leaving the dungeons earlier this week just before dawn and was well aware that they were attracted to one another but her career and his past were strong reasons to not go public with their burgeoning affair.

Worried that Black might harass her colleague, she saw that Narcissa had a good grip on his behavior and could only smile at Lucius who was giving Severus a very thorough assessing glance. Leaning in, she whispered. "For his sake, let it go. He isn't ready to talk about it."

The aristocratic wizard looked at her and said "If I don't push him, he will never be ready to talk. It's how things work between the two of us. He retreats behind his shell, I go in and drag him out."

Harry found it hard not to smile as the women retreated to the parlor so that it was only the seven wizards remaining. "What happens now?"

"Normally there is a rush to the nearby bathroom." Draco answered only to be smacked on the back of the head by his father. "What? It's the truth."

"Yes, but it is impolite to speak of while still at the table." Lucius announced as he directed the house elves to serve an after dinner brandy to the adults and a water downed version to the three teenagers. "I would offer you a cigar but as you know, my wife doesn't approve."

Severus stood and said "I will return in a few minutes."

Draco and Neville moved down to Harry's end of the table while Sirius went to take Minerva McGonagall's seat. "What do you think that was all about?"

"Nothing I want to discuss." Neville said shivering in fear. "Grandmother took me to get my own wand today. It seems as if Professor Lupin spoke to her about the importance of a wand working for a wizard."

"Whose wand were you using?" Draco asked.

"My fathers." He replied with a slight flush. "My new wand is yew with a unicorn hair."

"Good for charms work." Draco said absently. "Longbottom, what reason did the Weasleys give for not coming to your party?"

"That Mrs. Weasley considered it too dangerous to attend a party in muggle London." He answered. "Grandmother invited the Abbotts and Patils instead. Why?"

Draco looked at Harry then told the other wizard "It's just that she wrote to Hermione's parents again trying to convince them that they are making a mistake in holding Harry's party at their house. Something about how all the kids will be bored with the muggle games she is offering. Mrs. Granger flooed me because Harry is supposed to be unaware of the party and I said it was fine but figured that maybe you would know what the real deal is. I mean, you live near them don't you?"

"I have never been to their house." Neville replied.

"Really?" Harry asked a bit surprised. "But Ron and you are the same age. Its strange that she never thought to invite you over?"

"No, actually it's not. Grandmother said that a lot of pureblood families believed that I was rendered a squib the night my parents were tortured. A lot of them avoided me." Neville said with a shrug. "It's why my grandmother didn't mind me hanging out with the nearby muggle children since Ron wasn't allowed to be friends with them either."

"I don't get that. I mean, I know that the Malfoys wouldn't let Draco, at least not back then and maybe even now, but I thought that the Weasleys like muggles." Harry stated.

Neville thought about it then said "It's more like...well I think it is more like they don't dislike muggles, Harry. They don't go out of their way to avoid them, but they don't actively seek them out, even the twins. Yes they accept muggleborns, but they avoid anything not magical."

"What about Mr. Weasley?" Harry thought about it and then looked at Draco and had an epiphany. "He doesn't know much about them either. I mean, you spent a few days with the Grangers, Draco and already know more about muggles than he does."

There was silence as the three teenagers put together the implications of such thoughts. "Gentlemen, it is time to rejoin the ladies." Lucius announced and as a group they walked down the corridor towards the parlor.

"Harry is everything okay?" Remus asked as he paced the teenager.

"Yes, it's just something that occurred to me while we were talking about the Weasleys and the muggle world. I need to talk about it but it can wait until tomorrow." He said with a slight smile on his face to reassure his godfathers who were all giving him worried looks. "Let's go see what we missed."

Entering the parlor, they saw that Narcissa was now wearing not only the matching toga that the other adult Vestas wore but that she had on a small crown made of twigs a sign that she had achieved her labors.

When she had been congratulated, Lucius pressed a kiss to her hand and then they gathered for tea and dessert. Harry nodded at the newly appointed member of the Vesta inner circle then a house elf arrived with their tea and their individual apple crostatas, he whispered to Sirius that they were worried about how certain others would react to brownies being served again.

"Where did they end up?" Sirius inquired.

"You don't want to know." Harry warned then seeing his concern, leaned over and told him. "I uh, sprinkled some emperor's dust on it and sent them to the Headmaster. I felt it was the least he deserved. Even more so with what Dobby told me today about my parent's portraits. Don't ask, it is on my list of things to tell you tomorrow."

"What is emperor's dust?" He inquired a bit concerned.

"Nothing illegal." Harry replied with narrowed eyes. Recognizing that expression from James, Sirius shivered and gulped in fear. "It's a simple potion I bought at the joke shop last week that will turn his clothes see thru for an hour the minute he is in public."

"Harry he has a special meeting with the Wizengamot tomorrow." Sirius said with a wide eyed expression on his face.

"Good." Harry answered as calmly as if he was being told it was Tuesday.

"I have to be at that meeting." Sirius said with a slight frown. "What did I ever do to you to deserve having to see that."

"Don't look." Harry said with a smirk then looking at his godfather said "You should know, he won't notice it. It's set up so that only others can see it. He will see himself standing there in his typically gaudy robes."

Hearing Lucius speaking to them, they turned to be handed a small wrapped rectangle box.

"Lucius what is this?" Minerva inquired.

"A gift." He answered then told her the rest. "Malfoy Enterprises is expanding in a new direction and what you have in your hands is the first of a long line of new potentially profitable products. In honor of my wife's appointment, I have given those in this room the first of the more luxurious versions of the product."

Narcissa who had been given one as well, untied the golden ribbon and lifted the lid on the purple box and saw the two gold and purple objects with her name engraved on them. Her eyes went to Hermione who was saying ohhh, now nice. "Hermione, are these like the writing instruments you use?"

"No, these are way nicer." She said lifting the fountain pen from inside and holding it in her hand. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. These are wonderful."

"Just what are they?" Minerva asked.

"They are like never ending quills." Hermione said as she showed her professor how to hold the fountain pen. "You fill them with ink less frequently than you do a quill and those extra nibs are of various thicknesses. It's easier to write with than a quill and less messy."

"My company is going to begin selling them to the public next month." Lucius said. "Underneath your pens, you will find a colorful assortment of inks to choose from. These are the top of the line series but we are releasing them at all price points."

As the guests finished their desserts and thanked the Malfoys for their gifts, Minerva cornered the five teenagers and spoke to them about their summers before assuring Harry that Professor Babbling had looked at his test for Runes and was going to place him in the fourth year class.

"No more Trelawney, Harry?" Neville asked with a grin on his face.

"I was getting a little tired of having my death predicted constantly." He replied with a smirk. "So, are you ready for your birthday?"

"Yes, though, I should warn you, Grandmother met the Creeveys and for some reason has taken them under her wing. She invited not only Colin but his younger brother Dennis who starts Hogwarts this year to my party." He warned.

"Colin isn't that bad." Hermione said then seeing Harry's raised eye brow said "Well not as bad as one of your fan girls. Colin just likes to take photos, they want a whole lot more."

"Too bad, I am already taken." He replied as he reached for her hands.

"Please don't make me throw up. My mother would not be happy." Draco said with a smirk as he noticed Madam Pomfrey was listing to the side. When Augusta Longbottom beckoned her grandson, Neville told them he would see them at his party then with a thank you to his hosts, he along with the two elderly women went through the floo to his home.

The Bones left next, followed by Severus and Minerva who were talking about some sort of creature that Hagrid wanted to bring to the school for his class as they left. Sirius regretfully announced to Hermione that he had promised her parents to have her home by midnight, so Harry and she stepped into the corridor to say their goodbyes before Narcissa thanked her and then gave her a small gift from herself.

Remus, Sirius and Hermione left, Harry and Draco quickly excused themselves leaving the married Malfoys alone. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome, my dear." Lucius announced as he placed his hands on her waist. "Am I forgiven yet?"

"I am thinking about it." She said hiding her smile. "Things went very well tonight."

"They did." He answered as he called for a house elf to clear away the party. Walking towards the conservatory with her, he asked "What happens now?"

"Nothing different. I just attend meetings and help to guide our society forward. You notice that the Bones girl was invited tonight, correct?"

"If you are thinking of pairing her with Draco..." He heard his wife laughing and stopped to look at her. "What?"

"In spite of her flirting with the Longbottom boy, I have it on good authority that she is interested in the Diggory boy. No, she was invited because Amelia wants to guide her towards a friendship with classmates other than Hufflepuffs." She said. "Either way, Draco has no interest in her. I fear that our son is not quite interested in girls that way just yet."

"I was." He replied then seeing her look his way, said "In a general sort of noticing that they were build different than boys way at this point."

"Ah, yes, I seem to recall most of the Slytherin boys being very aware of Professor Hogarth the four years she taught Runes." Narcissa said with an ironic tone to her voice. Once seated in her favorite spot, she tugged at Lucius until he settled nearby. "I was speaking to Sirius earlier today. He is planning on inviting Harry to move into home for the next four weeks."

"He mentioned it, he also mentioned asking Draco to stay as well." He stated as he looked at his wife. "I was thinking on saying no."

"Draco and I have talked. He is rather unhappy that Harry is leaving. Our son has felt rather lonely for a very long time, Lucius. He is still worried about losing Harry's friendship once school starts, I think that this might help him feel more secure if he were to stay at Harry's home for a bit."

"Let's play it day by day." Lucius replied. After a moment he said "No brownies?"

"No, we uh, I believe Harry was a bit worried about Severus' reaction." She admitted as she found herself allowing her body to be tugged in his direction until she was half laying on his lap.

"He needn't be. Severus is rather proud of him for getting the drop on us. He was more worried about the casual use of the drugs." Lucius said. "I know that they have been having long talks about it during their classes. I think that he is feeling that Harry now understands why it wasn't a good idea."

"Does that mean you are going to let go of your plan to torture them?" She asked. Seeing his surprise, she said "Sirius might be a tough guy former auror and impossible to crack but Remus caved the minute Dora asked him about it. She told her mother who told me."

"Speaking of rumors, what about the blind item article in the Prophet regarding Umbridge and yourself?" He asked. "Seriously Narcissa, she is a vicious underhanded troubling making witch who now has it out for you."

With a light laugh, she pressed a kiss to his lips, then said "Lucius, what you seem to forget is that I often used to put Bella on her ass when we dueled against one another. Now lets go to bed. I miss your warmth."

Seeing his rather smarmy leer, she pressed against him and then said "To sleep, Lucius. You're still cut off."

Groaning and vowing revenge on his son and the Potter boy, Lucius dutifully followed his wife to their bedroom, thinking to himself, that that hadn't taken as long as he had expected.

Up next, Neville's party, Albus is exposed and Sirius finds out what really happened when Narcissa was a teenager after a visit to Bellatrix.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Thank the delightful people at Oliver Garden who donated take out meals for free to everyone who worked my festival today. Due to their generosity, you are getting an update as I didn't have to cook this evening. Now, I made a few changes. The big reveal that was going to take down Dumbledore happens at the end of this chapter and I moved Neville's birthday until the next update because by then poor Harry is going to need some celebrating.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Dumbledore's New Robes**

At the Malfoy residence, the family was still resting in their respective bedrooms after the exciting night they had had. Draco was making notes for his plans once school started, Harry was reading the book on mind reading or what Snape referred to as occlumency and the very married adults were curled up, taking about everything that had transpired so far that summer.

Across the country at the newly created Black estate, Sirius was discussing the same subject with Remus with the added addition of getting the former werewolf to spill his guts on why he suddenly seemed to have given into Tonks' pursuit.

"Never mind that, did you miss the large hint we received last evening regarding Severus?" Remus asked cheerfully throwing the other wizard in front of the proverbial hex to escape the rather intent probing of his friend. "How long do you think that has been going on?"

With a shrug, Sirius said "We don't know for sure that anything IS going on. I am sure that they are attracted to each others, though why, I don't get, but with his past and her current position, they won't risk it."

"So, I uh, was wondering with all of the time you have been spending with her... that maybe..." Remus heavily hinted only to see Sirius rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "No?"

"No Amelia and I have been discussing how to handle Albus regarding Harry's estate and the basilisk. We were old friends, nothing more." Sirius replied then admitted "I am not ready to deal with anything more, Moony. It's going to take a while to get used to being around people. I have Harry and yourself and the rest of the motley crew, it's all I need."

"Eventually Harry is going to grow up. I will hopefully be more settled. What then?" Remus inquired with a worried expression on his face.

"I am not saying never, Moony. I just need time." Sirius replied with a contemplative expression on his face. "Speaking of time, are you sure you don't want to be in the gallery today? I rather believe that it will be an entertaining session in the Wizengamot today."

"I would rather go speak to Minerva regarding my upcoming year teaching. I am rather surprised that Albus has not written to me either opposing my appointment or congratulating me." Remus said with a knowing look towards the other wizard.

"I'm not, he doesn't know that you are aware of Harry's location. Right now, he thinks Harry ran away. He has been to Grimmauld where he thinks I am staying and he has seen there is no evidence of Harry being there. My guess is that once he sees you, he will make an attempt to find out what you know. In fact, I am rather tempted to make him believe Harry is hiding there to expose his games."

"Speaking of Harry, how does he feel about moving in after his birthday?" Remus asked. Seeing the sudden lightening of Sirius' expression, he said "I am gathering he was thrilled?"

"Yes, though I haven't told him about the pitch. I want that to be a surprise. He knows he has a room and that Hermione played a part in decorating it, but that is all he has asked. We did discuss Draco coming to visit." Sirius said as he looked at the clock above the mantle and then grimacing reached for his Wizengamot robes that were carelessly tossed across the back of the nearby sofa.

"Harry was upset about something. Did he mentioned anything to you last night?" Remus asked as they both walked towards the main doors.

"Yes, he found out where his parent's portrait is. I have made arrangements for him to visit the Ministry this afternoon so that he can speak to Amelia about it. Severus is supposed to be bringing him."

"Why do I think we aren't going to like what we are going to hear?" Remus said in a troubled tone as he called out that he would see him later before apparating to Hogsmead.

At Hogwarts, the various staff members were slowly returning to the school after their month off. Filius who like Minerva and Severus had split his time between his home and the school was seated across from the others two at breakfast, discussing the latest news in the Daily Prophet.

"There is a list of the still missing items and Madam Bones is threatening to have anyone with the stolen merchandise arrested." Filius had read out loud. "I see that the Department of Magical Creatures has an interest in the basilisk that is in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Yes, they intend to see it harvested." Severus replied as he looked at Minerva who simply nodded his way. They both knew that all that Amos Diggory was waiting on was Harry's fourteenth birthday at the request of Sirius.

"I am rather surprised that the Headmaster is going to allow that." Sprout said from the other side of the table. "When I mentioned an interest in any left over fertilizer he said that there was nothing remaining of the snake."

"I think that was with the intent of pretending that none of what happened that year really happened. Now that it is public knowledge that a basilisk was located and that we know the location of Slytherin's Chamber, I am rather sure that the Ministry will insist on recovering it."

Hearing the sound sound of high pitched feminine laughter, those seated at the table looked up as Remus Lupin entered the Great Hall, clearly trying to escape the flirtatious clutches of Sybil Trelawney who had his arm in her grasp.

Snape just smirked at the pained expression on the wizard's face as he tried to be polite but was unable to extract himself from her. Knowing that Sybil reacted like that to any unmarried male who entered the building, Severus couldn't help thinking that they should sic her on Sirius.

"Sybil, let the man's arm go. He is going to need it for his meeting with myself."

Hearing Minerva's statement, Severus wanted to pout, annoyed that she was ruining his morning entertainment. That need to pout changed to being irritated when Minerva and Remus left the Great Hall and Sybil settled into the chair next to Severus.

With a leisurely attitude that was covering his need to escape, Severus lied and said that he was finished but that yes, of course she was more than welcome to sit there. When Filius hastily joined him, he turned to the half goblin who said "I have been meaning to speak to you in regards to something."

Once down in the dungeons, Severus let them into his office and then turned to inquire what the other wizard needed only to be told "I am rather in need of peace and quiet."

With a low chuckle, Severus offered up a chair and once they were seated mentioned what he had already told Minerva that week. "As you are aware, with the destruction of a certain set of artifacts, there is a lessening of the chance of a certain dark wizard's return. I have decided to make a few changes. Nothing too big to start, but a change."

When Flitwick nodded and clapped his hands, Severus said "I am still going to be the toughest teacher here, but I am not going to be so blatantly biased. I am rather sure that Albus will express concerned, but there is no possible way for me to return as a spy to my former master."

"You should have never been put in that position in the first place. Minerva and I were discussing it recently and can't help feeling like you were being pushed in that direction from a certain wizard who will remain nameless."

"Speaking of that wizard, I know you have contacts that we don't in the Goblin nation. Here." Going to his desk, removing the four history books, he handed them to Filius and said "The Americans and the Japanese have a slightly more jaded version of how the great and powerful Dumbledore dealt with Grindelwald. They also are very detailed in his past relationship with the other wizard. I was given the books so that you may pass them on. It seems as if Lily had ordered them during the previous war. She was looking for answers. They were confiscated by Albus after their deaths."

Filius looked between the books and the tense wizard in front of him and asked "If I read these, am I going to want to duel a certain wizard."

"Maybe, the story is the same basic one we know, there are just a few differences, but those differences and the history behind their past together makes me wonder about a few things." Severus said trying not to influence Filius' response. "I have kept them from Minerva as she has no ability to guard her mind. I know that Albus can't read yours or the other two who have read the books."

"Yourself and who else?" Filius asked.

"Lupin and Madam Bones." Severus reluctantly replied. "Lupin, even now has the same guards on his mind that he used to protect himself when he was a werewolf. Madam Bone is of course an expert in occlumency due to her position."

"May I copy the books if what I find is of importance?" He formally inquired.

"You may." Severus replied with a nod. Looking at the other wizard he said "I fear we may need a new headmaster before the end of the fall semester."

"He is an old warrior, he will hold out until he has been given no choice. My guess is the end of the school year." Filius replied then said as he stood to leave. "He will take down as many as he can before he goes. You watch yourself. I don't have many that I truly call a friend and would hate to lose one."

VESTA

Up in the Headmaster's quarters, Albus was looking at his new Wizengamot robes with a cheerful expression on his face. The brilliant scarlet colored robes with the golden threads and lions with the letter G were there to remind all those who would challenge his wisdom of who he was and what he had done for them in his life.

Standing in the center of his room, he walked towards his breakfast table, thanked the house elf who delivered his breakfast and sat down to begin to eat. Seeing the warm plate of brownies, he smiled at how the simple creatures took such good care of him.

After his meal, he took care in the hair brushing spell that he used on his long silver hair and beard, slipped into a pair of bright golden silk socks before changing into his traditional bright red drawers, then his sleeveless chemise of the same color before putting on his brand new robes.

Lifting his wizard's hat with the same color scheme, he placed his original wand in his arm holster and then holding the elder wand exited his quarters to take the floo to the Ministry.

Sirius sat on his chair next to the Longbottom regent and was speaking to Augusta when he saw Lucius entering the room and heading to his own seat. Nodding at the other wizard, he was asking Augusta about her plans for Neville's birthday party when he saw Amelia Bones entering the room with several of the Department Heads.

There seemed to be urgent whispering going back and forth and that Amelia was nodding her head in agreement to whatever it was the Diggory was telling her. When they were all seated, Sirius saw Arthur Weasley entering by himself and how once he was seated, the wizard next to him seemed to scoot away as if worried he would be tainted by the now severely chastened wizard.

Looking around some more, noticing that he hadn't seen Delores Umbridge, he sighed in annoyance when she entered the room wearing a smug grin. When Fudge refused to allow her to sit near him, her smug grin faltered but she was soon seated in the only available spot, next to Arthur Weasley.

Sirius saw that when Albus entered the room, he was completely clothed to his relief as the Chief Warlock glad-handed several of his supporters and was soon standing at the dais looking out at those gathered.

Basic procedures handled, Albus was about to ask for any new business when Amelia Bones stated she had a list that had to be shared due to her investigation into the missing artifacts and when Albus tried to stop her, several of the pureblood families on both sides of the political spectrum insisted she be allowed to speak.

"I have a list of several still missing items. I have placed warrants in my files regarding these items and as they are located we will be returning them to their owners. Anyone found to have these items in their possession shall be questioned under veritiaserum and then given a swift trial. No one, I mean no one is exempt from these charges as per current Wizengamot laws."

There was some clapping from the members but Albus just moved on to the next topic, not allowing any discussion as he normally would allow. "Any old business that need to brought to a conclusion?"

Amos stood up and announced that they were slowly preparing for the new procedure regarding the Moonrebirth potion which had been renamed the Werewolf cure potion as was ordered by the United Magical Courts.

Albus frowned, not even his new robes was doing much to cheer him up. When the Minister stood and moved to center stage, he grumpily allowed it and almost missed it as Fudge announced that he had been in discussions with his various advisers and that as of the next morning several departments were going to be reshuffled.

"I am rather sure that what you currently have is quite sufficient, Cornelius as they have been for the last five hundred years." Albus said a bit annoyed that he had not been consulted. "After all it is very important not to push people out of their jobs."

"I have not done so. We are simply reworking the Ministry so that from here on out, things will operate in a more open and efficient environment." Fudge stated in a serene manner sure in his support from his staff. "The Department of Mysteries has done the same but as they are kept their changes under a cloak of secrecy, I will just inform you of the changes in the rest of the Ministry."

Fudge pulled out a piece of parchment and Sirius was hoping he stayed awake when he noticed an odd sort of fuzziness to the Headmaster's new robes.

Now the man had his attention, Sirius listened very attentively as Fudge announced the various department changes, the only two that interested him were the ones that had Arthur Weasley now working for Amos Diggory who... Sirius snickered as he saw the smug grin change to a thunderous expression on Delores Umbridge's face as her department was granted more authority and then she was essentially publicly replace.

Amos nodded at the new authority he had been given and then Sirius looked at Scrimgeour who didn't look so thrilled with his promotion. He couldn't figure out why, then thought about the rumors regarding the world cup.

He was sure that the old warrior would rather be dealing with that sort of challenge than taking over the department of Magical creatures any day. When Fudge announced that they were looking into other changes, and would hold an open forum, he grimaced and sincerely hoped that Narcissa had gotten through to a certain young Vesta apprentice regarding house elves or things might get a little hairy.

Albus moved on, a bit grumpy but knowing that as soon as he located Harry things would go back to the way he had planned. He was certain that that young man was hiding out with one of his school friends, but he knew he wasn't at the Weasleys and he had the Black manor house being staked out by Dung so he knew he wasn't with his godfather.

He was certain Sirius knew where he was, but it had proven impossible to get a read on his memories during their recent meetings. Still, Molly had told him about the planned birthday party at the Granger's girl's house, so he was positive that soon things would be back to normal as he would insist on Harry staying with the Weasleys.

Sirius was feeling a small sense of disappointment that a certain set of gaudy robes had remained in place, oh, they had gone fuzzy but still it looked as if Harry's prank had been a failure. The elderly wizard had just used his wand to shoot sparks announcing the end of the morning session when it happened.

Albus had circled around his podium and was moving towards Fudge who looked to ducking away from Umbridge when Sirius heard that particular witch gasp and then say "Well I never..."

There was some soft baritone chuckles and then Sirius heard the headmaster speaking to someone who had commented on his robes. "Yes, they are terrific aren't they. Madam Malkin created the design, I just animated them."

"Albus!" Griselda Marchbanks who had been forced to miss the dinner as a result of a meeting with Fudge could be heard snapping the elderly wizard's name. "Do you mean to tell us that you wanted this to happen?"

Sirius moved forward as casually as he could only to notice a few others doing the same while some of those closest to the Headmaster seemed rather eager to escape.

Sure enough, when the elderly wizard came into view, Sirius saw that Harry's small prank had worked! Albus Dumbledore's robes were now invisible, well almost, the animated lions that were moving around on what looked like air were still stopping every few seconds and roaring.

"Please tell me that my son had nothing to do with this." Sirius heard from an amused voice next to him. Looking at Malfoy, he pretended ignorance but found it hard to control his laughter as the Headmaster kept taking the various comments he was being given as compliments for his uh, wardrobe choices.

This went on for a few minutes as a few of the Headmaster's rivals realized that the man wasn't aware of his missing fabric. Sirius was about to move towards the back when he heard Amelia stepping in and clearing some space around the chief warlock.

Once she had done so, she put up a silencing bubble and Sirius was sulking for a moment, but the view alone made his day as the old man's twinkling blue eyes went wide, then he looked down then at the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and then back down.

Whatever was being said had him struggling not to laugh as the old man pulled out his wand and tried to charm his robes. When it didn't work, when all could still see him standing there in his undergarments, there was a puzzled expression on his face.

When Amelia transfigured a nearby quill into a plain set of robes, then handed them to Albus, Sirius watched as the old man hastily put them on over what he was currently not wearing and seemed to be making a hasty retreat after sending a harassed glance his way.

"I do believe that a certain wizard with an over-sized ego believes that you had something to do with this." Malfoy snickered as he began to walk towards his exit.

When Amelia had dropped her silencing bubble and moved his way, Sirius held out his wand and said "Just so that you can report I had nothing to do with this."

She shook her head and did using the prior incantum spell saw that his last spell was to apparate and that the one before that was a shaving spell. "Sirius, please tell me you weren't responsible for this event."

Turning to look at Augusta Longbottom, he said "I wish I had done it, but no, I didn't prank the chief warlock."

"Good." Amos Diggory said as he joined their small group. Still chuckling he said "I rather wonder if the Headmaster is aware of the Dutch fable about the Emperor's New Clothes. If he isn't, I rather fear someone should tell him about it."

"A fable?" Augusta inquired as she noticed that there were a few journalists who had exited the visitors balcony and were wandering around to get some quotes on the goings on that day. She sincerely doubted that any other item would be mentioned other than the embarrassing episode of the half dressed headmaster. "I am unaware of this story."

"Two weavers trick a rather arrogant and vain king into wearing an invisible suit in public. The king only learns the truth when a young child outs that he is naked. Its a moral story for young wizards by Hans Christian Anderson, who also wrote a very interesting story regarding mermaids." Amos said. "Still, if this wasn't a prank, considering Dumbledore stated he charmed the robes himself, we might need to be rather concerned that maybe, just maybe the man is getting a little too old for all the important positions he holds."

Albus hurried back to Hogwarts, furious that he had been seen in such a state by those who needed his leadership. He was convinced that it was Sirius Black who had done to his to him, after all it was the sort of prank the former student had often played on his enemies.

This was even more proof that he needed to be relieved of guardianship of Harry. How could a wizard like that even begin to understand the very important sacrifices that young Harry would have to make for the Greater good. No, tomorrow morning, he would just have to convince Cornelius, that for the good of their world, Harry Potter needed to be removed from Sirius Black's custody.

Going to his over stocked wardrobe, Albus pulled out a set of silver and teal robes with small wands on them that sparked when animated. Realizing that his bright red under garments would have to go, he changed into a new set, these the bright teal and then pulled on the matching silver silk stockings.

Soon wearing his new clothes having enchanted the wands to throw off sparks, he hurried down to join his staff for lunch, determined to regain control of something in his life. Seated next to Minerva who seemed to be in a rather intense discussion with Filius, he was rather bored when he realized it was regarding Filch and some cat who had given birth to kittens.

Moving towards the other side of the table, he grimaced as he heard Hagrid and Sprout discussing the fall plantings of pumpkins. A bit further on, Aurora Sinestra and Septima Vector were discussing some runes breakthrough that the Germans had had.

A bit annoyed to realize that other than greeting him as was proper when he entered, no one was paying the least bit of attention to him. "Minerva, where is Severus?"

Stopping her conversation with Filius, she replied. "I believe he was gathering potions ingredients this morning and then had to pay a visit to Gringotts, something about a job."

She turned back to Filius, hiding her need to smirk at the suddenly arrested expression on the old buzzard's face at the fear of losing his pet potions professor. When Albus demanded more information, she turned back and simply said "I was not informed by the man of what the letter contained as of course, it was his PRIVATE business and none of my concern."

Albus sat there sputtering and when he heard Sybil Trelawney begin speaking in riddles and pretending to get a vision, he struggled not to snap at the fraud, after all she was needed for when HE returned. Without her, he had no way of trying to convince young Harry that he had to face HIM.

Eventually just escaping, having to struggle against the heartburn he had gotten as a result of the annoyances he had dealt with during lunch, he went to his private stores of potions, took what was needed and then sat down at his desk to begin to make sense of the mountain of paperwork.

Soothed as he worked through all of it, as it gave him a tremendous sense of how badly he was needed in the magical world, he called for a house elf and inquired if they had any more of those fabulous brownies.

"I be sorry but those were all eaten. Wes be getting some mores headmaster." The elf stated, his eyes taking in the man wearing invisible robes. She left, shaking her head at the latest strange outfit the rather insane headmaster was wearing.

Albus sighed and looked at the plate that showed up in place of the brownies. Biting into one of the fresh lemon tarts, he found that while they satisfied his sweet tooth, they did nothing for him.

When the chime rang to inform him that Minerva was coming up the stairs, he sat back and relaxed. "Good afternoon, Minerva. I trust that things are going well in regards to the upcoming new school year. That all new muggleborn students have been visited?"

"Yes, things are going smoothly as...Albus, what are you wearing?" She snapped sounding scandalized. "Really, sometimes you go too far."

Albus looked down and then said "Yes, yes, I know that they are a bit bright, but I just felt the need today."

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself. A man at your advanced age." With that, she pressed her lips together, shook her head and quickly exited the office. Once back in hers, she put a silencing charm on her walls and doors and began to laugh out loud. Sirius had sent her a message regarding what had happened earlier and his suspicions that the charm would carry over into anything the wizard wore. When things had appeared normal at lunch, she had been slightly disappointed, but thankfully she had gone to see him in his tower.

Calling Remus to return so that they could finish their appointment regarding the new changes he wanted to make in the Defense Against Dark Art's curriculum this upcoming year, Minerva sighed in pleasure at having the same professor two years in a row in the subject, never mind that for once the wizard was actually more than competent in the subject they taught as well.

VESTA

Albus frowned and began to think that maybe it might be time for Minerva to retire, clearly the strain of so much work was getting to her. As he began to go through a list of potential transfiguration professors, he realized it was a very short list and found himself hoping that his very dear co-worker was able to at least hold on to the end of the upcoming school year. When the portraits began to murmur comments about his robes, Albus frowned and froze them silent, needing peace and quiet.

After yet another pile of paperwork was taken care of, Albus leaned back in his office chair, his mind drifting for a moment then looking over at the empty perch of his phoenix and sighed at the temporary loss of his familiar. He had sent Fawkes away to try and prevent Amos from gaining access to phoenix tears.

There was a soft cough and looking over at his fireplace, Albus saw Dung and invited the other wizard through. "Was Potter seen at Grimmauld Place?"

"He might have been." The squirrelly man said as he looked around the room, his eyes gleaming as he saw the large assortment of shiny silver surely expensive gadgets. "However, someone with an invisibility cloak entered the manor house."

Albus' eyes regained their twinkle and without another word to Dung, he went to the fireplace, threw some floo powder into the flames and called out the address of Grimmauld Place. Dung looked at the portraits and to his deep pleasure they were clearly unmoving. A quick glance around and his hand went out to grab what he could of the fancy silver objects and sticking them in his pockets, he followed the headmaster through to Black's residence.

Albus looked around the newly renovated house and after checking the first floor rooms, went towards the staircase where he found Dung seated. "Follow me."

The dirty and smelly man hurried up the stairs behind the man who had helped get the charges against him dismissed only to smirk when he heard the sound of someone moaning loudly.

Noticing the headmaster had paled, Dung wanted badly to make a snippy comment about the Potter boy getting started young, however when the older wizard flung the door open and charged into the room, Dung got a good look at the site within and opening began bellowing at the startled expression on their faces.

"I hope the two of you have a good explanation for this." the Hogwarts Headmaster said frowning at the sight in front of him. The man laying half naked on a strange looking table and the second wizard standing over him with his hands on his lower back. "I expect the two of you downstairs immediately."

"Bugger off." With that the wizard in the narrow bed, reached for his wand and sent the headmaster flying out the door which slammed closed and from the sounds of the click locked behind him.

Albus sank against the wall, unable to believe what had just happened to him. Staring at Dung, he said "Find Potter, he has to be here."

Before Dung could obey, there was the sound of multiple pops and then heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs. "By order of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, you are under arrest."

"Relax, Auror Shacklebolt, it is only myself." Dumbledore replied as he felt Dung trying to flee.

"Do you have permission of the owner to be in this house?" Shack asked as he looked at the chief warlock and a man he was well aware was a unrepentant thief.

"Of course I do." Dumbledore stated as he looked at Dawlish, Jones and Vance, all former students of his who were now aurors.

"Really?" A new voice said as he exited the locked room wearing very little under his robes. Growling, Sirius said "I don't recall giving you permission to enter my house. Nor do I recall allowing Fletcher over there to have free run of my properties, after all he has a tendency to rob those who are stupid enough to do so blind. In fact, Shack, if you would kindly pat him down before he leaves..."

"Do I understand that you were unaware that they had entered your household, Black?" Dawlish asked, glaring at Dung. He had arrested the thief and mere days later he was in out on the streets thanks to the headmaster.

"No, I wasn't." Sirius said scowling at the two men. "I came here for an appointment with a healer who was working on certain issues I have when they barged into my bedroom and then the chief warlock demanded that I join him downstairs immediately. I have a witness if you require it."

The door opened and when the four saw the man standing there dressed in an odd outfit, there were some narrowed eyes but Sirius pushed the door the rest of the way open so that they could see the table with the odd u shaped cushion.

"This is Healer Phillips, he is trained in both muggle and magical healer. At the recommendation of a specialist healer, he has been regularly working on fixing the damage done to my back from years of sleeping on concrete in Azkaban." Sirius said glaring at the others.

"And your state of undress."

"Massage works best when the patient is wearing very little." Phillips stated.

Shacklebolt nodded and said "I am aware of this technique, the muggle prime minister often receives it. Does it help, Black?"

"Normally yes, however my regular therapist was unavailable, so she sent her husband and we were just getting started when the Headmaster pushed his way into my home." He said scowling at the man. Looking at Shack and then Jones who he knew, he said "Please keep as quiet as possible about this. Harry unfortunately already blames himself for my stay at the prison and if he was aware of this lingering physical malady, he would not react well. Albus I am sure you understand that you WILL stay silent."

When the others nodded, Phillips looked at the watch he was wearing and then at Sirius. "I am rather afraid I have to return to St. Mungos, Black. If Jezebel is free later, I will have her give you a call."

"Thank you, Thomas." He said and when the man had gathered his table and supplies, he scowled at the two unwanted guests and said "Let me guess, Dung you have been stalking me looking for my godson and when you saw the cloak, you went to the headmaster."

Dung sputtered but said nothing as he faced the angry black eyes of the man standing in front of him. When Sirius noticed the aurors weren't paying any attention to him, but that their eyes were on the headmaster, he rolled his eyes and said "Albus, might I suggest a new tailor. Are you aware that you are standing there showing off your undergarments again?"

Albus looked down and saw his teal and silver robes, but when he looked at the aurors he realized that they didn't. "Black did this, I know he did. More proof that you are the same immature hot headed kid you were as a student, now fix my robes or I will have you arrested."

Dung leaned in and whispered to the elderly wizard who frowned then looked at the stinky man and then over at Black. When the wizard simply nodded yes to his question of are you sure, Dumbledore glared at him then pulling his wand transfigured a nearby curtain into robes.

"Did I give you permission to use my drapes as clothes?" Sirius asked in an amused tone.

"Black, please, let him cover himself. For my sake if nothing else." Jones said in a soft whisper.

Nodding that he understood, Sirius asked "Now that you have ruined any chance of sleeping tonight without back pain, perhaps you would care to tell me what was so important for you to burst into my home unwanted and unannounced?"

While most eyes were on Black and Dumbledore, Dawlish had leaned Dung against a wall and began to pat him down. Locating the four silver devices that the man had in his pockets, he placed magical handcuffs on him and was getting ready to send him to the Ministry via a portkey when he saw the older wizard's eyes on what he was holding in his hands.

"Sirius, do you recognize any of these items, it appears that Fletcher is up to his old tricks." John Dawlish showed the four small items to Black.

"Those are mine." The Headmaster stated as he reached for them. "I won't be pressing charges, Auror Dawlish so you may simply return them to my custody."

"Are you sure you wish to proclaim that these items were in your possession before Mr. Fletcher obtained them, headmaster?" Dawlish probed. When the elderly wizard began to nod in affirmative, Dawlish said "Sir, you should know before you answer that these items are on a list of most wanted returned items that Madam Bones says were stolen from their owners. I would suggest that you think twice before stating that these items were in your possession."

Albus was desperate to regain control of said devices but he could hear the cautionary warning in the aurors voice and decided that he would just wait until they had been placed back in the vault and then request that Arthur Weasley arrange for his property to be returned to him.

Sirius watched as Albus didn't reply, just stood there and watched as Dawlish and his prisoner left the Black manor house. The other aurors looked his way and he nodded no when Shacklebolt tilted his head towards the headmaster.

Once they had left, Sirius looked at Albus and said "I looked up to you at one point and out of respect for all the good you have done over the years, I didn't press charges, but if you ever invade any property that belongs to me or my godson again, I won't hesitate to see you in handcuffs."

When Albus began to speak, Sirius held up his hand and said "I have been given control of the entire Potter estate by the Goblins, if you don't remove the unwarranted wards against every single piece of property belonging to my godson, charges via the Ministry are the least of your fears. I am sure that you recall that the Ministry turned over the rights to enforce those rules to Gringotts. We both know that a fight with the goblins is the last thing you need at this time."

The headmaster was not in a good mood and wanted to take down the rather arrogant young wizard who owed him his life. After remaining silent for a few minutes, standing there wearing little more than a sack cloth transfigured into plain green robes, Albus had had enough.

"You Mr. Black, had better learn to control yourself. I am getting to the end of my patience in dealing with your childish and inane behavior. For a man whose ignorance and arrogance almost cost someone he claims to love so much, it is the very height of hypocrisy to be attacking me when your behavior has led to so much pain and misery even among your own bloodlines."

When Sirius only rolled his eyes in dismissal, Albus snarled "If it wasn't for me, you would be nothing more than an empty vessel bowing to a madman. You had better recall that you owe me. Now, you need end this game you are playing and that young Harry is to be at the Weasley home by five PM this evening or I will make public just how dark the Black family is. Trust me where this knowledge to become public, you would be scorned by all good wizards."

"Do you really expect me to just take you word for anything, Albus?" He asked with a sneer upon his face.

"You want proof, I will give you proof." Albus snapped and then went to the fireplace and flooed back to Hogwarts. A few minutes later, a letter landed on the floor in front of the annoyed wizard.

Reading it, Sirius turned pale green and then after reading it again, looked at the name of the house elf and with a shaky shrill voice called for Dobby.

To his surprise the house elf appeared and stood before him. Handing him the letter, Sirius asked. "Is this true?"

Dobby read the letter and then handing it back, bowed his head and replied "I didn't want to but I was forced to obey my master. I is sorry, but Master threatened to kill me if I didn't comply."

Sinking to the cold marble floor, staring at the house elf his godson seemed to adore, Sirius asked "Why when I was head of house at this point, didn't you come to me? You were a Black family elf, you ultimately answered to ME, not my twice damned father or uncle."

"I's tried, Master Sirius, but when I tried to use my magic, yous were blocked by old wizard's magic. I could not sees you." Dobby said tears falling from his eyes and snot running down his face. "I's did not want to bring her to heres, but I had no choice. I must obey family magics."

Sirius looked at the letter and then at Dobby who began to speak so fast that he had to decipher what he was saying. By the end, he began to get why Dobby had done what he had for Harry, how he felt that Harry as his heir was his true master.

While he didn't condone what Malfoy had done, he found he understood as he realized he often fantasized about doing similar things to the Dursleys for the pain they had caused Harry.

Needing more answers, he sent a note to Narcissa stating he would be unable to join them for dinner and one to Harry saying he would explain later before ordering Dobby to keep doing what he was doing for Harry.

When the small creature hugged his knees and vowed to always, always protect his young master, Sirius awkwardly patted him on the head and then apparated out and landed near the boat dock to Azkaban.

He needed to talk to a crazy woman and he wasn't going to allow himself to be denied. He never noticed he wasn't wearing anything under his robes but his thankfully more modern undergarments as he climbed into the row boat and ordered the sailor to take him to Azkaban.

VESTA

Harry and Draco were seated in the library along with the senior Malfoys when the note from Sirius arrived. Reading his letter, Harry saw that the Headmaster had struck again and that Sirius was doing some research into an accusation against him, he sighed in annoyance that the headmaster was still trying to control him.

When Narcissa had said Sirius wouldn't be joining them, Draco went back to what he had asked before the letters arrived. "So, Amos Diggory asked you to take them down to the Chamber next week. Father, may I go with them?"

"I already arranged for both of us to go, with Diggory. I understand you asked that Severus be allowed to join us, Harry?" Lucius inquired.

"I had, but it seems as if Mr. Diggory had already spoken to him about doing so." Harry said. "I had no idea the worth of the basilisk. I don't want the funds but the Goblins are insisting on paying me. I am going to put most of it in the scholarship fund. I know that it was how my mom managed to attend Hogwarts."

"That is rather generous Harry." Narcissa stated as her eyes went wide. From what Lucius said the goblins were paying ten galleons a pound for the basilisk meat alone, not to mention what the other parts would be worth.

"I don't want it. I just want them to be able to access the poison to help those like Remus." He answered with a slight shrug. "All money does is add to more of a separation between me and everyone else at school."

"Harry, I understand that you had a run in with my favorite toad." Narcissa said with a smirk on her face. When the teenager laughed and then looked at Draco, she said "Draco didn't tell me. A certain head snake couldn't stop laughing long enough to speak."

Groaning, Harry flushed bright red while Draco once again did the same as Remus and the Tonks entered the room directed by Tipsy. "I didn't mean to do it."

"Do what?" Remus asked after he had greeted his hostess and then hugged his godson. "Are we speaking about the headmaster and his rather revealing new outfit?"

Dora laughed while Lucius struggled not to as Harry replied "I guess that Snape didn't tell you what happened today while we were at the Ministry?"

"I think he was trying but he couldn't breath. Madam Pomfrey was insisting he go to the infirmary, she seemed to belief he had inhaled some sort of dangerous potion." Remus replied. "Do you know what had him laughing so hysterically when he tried to speak to Minerva and myself this afternoon?"

"Umbridge was made redundant at the ministry today rather publicly so she tried to get revenge against Harry who she blamed for some reason." Draco answered and then when his auror cousin tried to explain further but fell into Professor Lupin while laughing, Draco said "She tried to hex Harry who ducked and apparently managed to transfigure her into a toad. A very large toad wearing a pink fuzzy sweater and a pink rhinestone bow."

Tonks was now beyond herself as she told Remus "That is what I was trying to tell you when you insisted we hurry over here."

"Harry?"

The boy who lived to be embarrassed groaned and said "It was an accident. I ducked away from the hex when I heard her shouting and then when I turned and saw who attacked me, I was thinking of using expelliarmus to remove her wand, but somehow the thought that she really looked like a toad came to me and boom, there she was a large toad."

"From what Severus told me, Shacklebolt who was reporting to the Minister and Bones about things in the muggle government, saw what happened and was trying to get closer to arrest the uh, toad." Narcissa said with a slight giggle that had her husband struggling not to laugh and who ended up smirking instead.

"Anyhow, Amelia sent Harry home after insisting he file the report to have her arrested. The best part is that the press saw Harry there and assumed he was with Arthur not Severus."

"Arthur saw Harry with Severus?"

"Sort of, he rather heard Severus admonishing me for getting separated from him in the floo and thought that he had located me after I supposedly ran away. Mr. Weasley was offering me to take me to the Burrow and let the headmaster knew." Harry replied. "Anyhow, after the paperwork, Amelia Bones and Snape sort of conspired to make it look like I escaped their clutches." Harry answered.

"You have had a busy day, Harry." Remus said with his arm around his godson to comfort him. "I did speak to Sirius earlier, he told me about the paintings of your parents."

"You located them?" Lucius asked looking at the young wizard.

"Dobby did." Harry replied in a sad tone. "He couldn't retrieve them because the Headmaster has some sort of ward to prevent anyone with a connection to my family to retrieve them."

"What do you mean, your family?" Lucius inquired.

Harry thought about it and said "I don't exactly know. All Dobby said was that they were behind wards in his office at the IWC. The Goblins said no one with my blood lines..."

Lucius abruptly stood and called for Topsy and Tipsy. When the two house elves arrived, he asked them to go retrieve Harry's property. To the shock of everyone, a few minutes later, Harry's parents who were frozen in the picture appeared leaning against a nearby wall then the house elves themselves appeared holding two large baskets apiece.

"Master Lucius, these also had young wizard's magic on them." Lucius stood there looking at the various items in the basket and then at Harry before telling Remus that they need to locate Severus and Sirius right away.

"Sir?" Harry was shocked when both Narcissa and Andromeda went over to the baskets and began to curse in rather unladylike tones. "What is it?"

"I am sorry to be keeping you in the dark Harry, but it is for the best until we verify that I am right in what I suspect." Lucius said looking very grave as he saw Remus had almost passed out in shock at whatever was in the basket. "Lupin, get a hold of yourself. Never mind, Narcissa, please go get Severus, it would create less of a stir if you brought him back. Nymphadora..."

When she glared at him, he returned the look and snapped "Find your boss, now. Be discreet and quick about it. Ted, go contact Boudacia Pomfrey and Augusta Longbottom. Madam Longbottom isn't going to want to come, she is planning her grandson's birthday party for tomorrow, but tell her it is an emergency. Potter, call that annoying house elf and tell him to bring Black here immediately. NOW!"

The booming sound of his voice as he gave orders had everyone who had gone still suddenly rushing to and fro. Draco looked at his father who told him to arrange for refreshments while the older wizard went to the front hallway to contact the Goblins himself.

Soon a rather large and eclectic group was standing in the Malfoy ballroom where Lucius had had the house elves make into a more comfortable accommodations for those gathered.

Sirius who looked so furious when he returned that Severus and Lucius both too a step back, demanded to know why Dobby had returned him. He looked at those gathered and mentally went through the list.

The Malfoys who were gathered near Harry, Hermione Granger who seemed to be completely mystified as to what was going on but was acting in support of Harry who seemed to be staring at something with such longing that Sirius felt a twinge in his heart.

Severus was stalking back and forth muttering vicious and deadly threats against someone. Amelia Bones was clearly torn between calming him down and telling him that his plans weren't painful enough as punishment. Several of the Vestas were gathered, wearing their ceremonial robes including Minerva, Augusta, Boudacia Pomfrey who as the lead witch was dressed in warrior gear that had him shaking his head.

Looking at the gathered goblins, the Tonks family and Filius Flitwick who was standing over an unconscious Moony caught Sirius' attention. "What happened to Remus?"

"He figured it out at the same time I did." Lucius' icy tone had Sirius looking at the last grouping. Noticing Croaker of the unspeakables and to his shock the head of the Goblin nation, he found himself moving towards Harry in a protective gesture only to finally see what his godson was staring at.

The portrait of James and Lily Potter who were not moving but to his shock he noticed that there was a odd glaze surrounding the painting. Looking down and seeing the baskets, he felt something tingling in the back of his neck before his hands compulsively tightened on Harry's shoulder as he looked at Lucius and asked. "Tell me that I am wrong in what I am thinking?"

"I am rather afraid I can't." The platinum blond wizard looked at Harry with to what seemed almost regret in his eyes as he realized just how much had been stolen from the teenager. "Most here don't know what is going on, The Goblins of course do, but I couldn't bring myself to tell Harry why what looks like a painting isn't moving."

"Sirius?" The wizard looked at his godson and then over at the now sitting up Moony and then at Snape before pulling his godson close and hugging him. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Yes and no." Sirius replied. "I am not sure, how but Headmaster performed a ritual on your parents. I am rather afraid that it is a very dark ritual that has been banned since the time of the Hogwarts founders."

"So they will never wake up." Harry asked.

"They were never asleep, Harry. This isn't a portrait, they are in a portal." Sirius said his eyes watering as he imagined the horror that the couple had been put through. Turning to the Vestas, he looked at Boudacia who simply bowed her head. "You suspected?"

"A contact came to me, told me a will had been executed then sealed of a couple that the goblins didn't believe to be dead. There was overwhelming evidence of their death, though. When you testified, we believed that it was a simple error due somehow to the way that they were killed."

"Sirius?" Harry's voice sounded so young as he looked at his godfather.

"Harry..." Remus and Severus had both moved closer, both trying to comfort the teenager for the news they were about to share. "Your parents were sent into the portal while still alive."

"They...are...alive?" Hermione asked gasping in horror, recalling how terrified she had felt while petrified by the basilisk and tried to imagine having been that way for almost twelve and a half years.

"Yes." Lucius replied and when he saw Harry's joy, hastily added the rest. "Harry, I wish it were as simple as a common spell to get them out of the picture, but this portal spell was outlawed for a reason. Even with the spell which is unknown to us at this point, we have to know the ritual used and..."

The wizard who Harry believed was almost unflappable about anything other than his family looked completely flummoxed.

"Harry, we would need the blood of the dark lord to return them to their living selves. However, with the ritual we already did to get rid of those remnants of his soul; there is no way left to retrieve them."

TBC

DUM...DA...DUM... but there is a ritual, the bone of the father, the flesh of a willing minion and the blood of the enemy. Since we know it won't be Harry's blood I wonder whose blood those particular wizards will use? Three guesses and the first two don't count.

The sound of the the screws being slowly turned tighter and tighter on Albus Dumbledore.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Dumbledore, I don't see him as dark, more like an arrogant SOB who feels that whatever he does is done for the greater good. He TRUELY believes that Harry is the only way to handle Riddle and if that means removing his parents, sticking him with the Dursleys, keeping him ignorant of certain aspects of life, then that is fine, after all he is going to die. I find that people who are true believers aka fanatics can be ten times more scary than any garden variety murderer.

Chapter Nineteen

There was complete silence in the ballroom as Harry absorbed that news, looking at his godson, Sirius was once again reminded that for all of Harry's maturity and power, he was after all still thirteen years old. Pulling him close, he softly whispered that they would find a way. That he wasn't going to allow James and Lily to remain in the portrait.

When the teenager buried his head into Sirius' shoulder and began to shake from his tears, he could only hold him, feeling complete helpless even as he buried his own rage at what was going around the room, seeing the icy rage in Malfoy's eyes, he nodded at the other wizard, well aware that this was even more proof that his dislike of Dumbledore had long been justified.

Finding Narcissa reaching for her husband and holding on tight, had Sirius' rage almost exploding as he debated telling them exactly what he had learned that evening. Albus had been unaware of just how much he had revealed to him earlier that evening.

Talking to his insane and now ex-cousin had him wishing with all of his might that he had never fallen for the man's so called Great Good spiel all those years ago. His eyes went to Andromeda who as a Black sister knew exactly how dark their family was and that the spell needed was more than likely in the books in the family library.

His only pleasure in the entire situation was watching as his young cousin comforted Remus whose head was buried in her shoulders as his shoulders trembled from where he was clearly distraught.

The black eyes of Severus Snape were calling out for revenge, but even a hot head like Sirius knew that this would have to be dealt with in a delicate manner. They had no idea where or how to retrieve the bodies of James and Lily. If Dumbledore got the least hint of what was going on, there would a chance he could prevent the very slim chance of giving Harry back his parents.

When he felt Harry pull back a bit, then the teenager turn to Hermione and pull her close, Sirius stepped back to allow them to comfort each other. When he felt the soft touch of Minerva McGonagall, he looked at his former head of house and asked "Why would he do this?"

"I truly don't know." She answered looking sick to her stomach. When Severus looked over, she asked "Do you think this is about the prophecy told by Trewlawny?"

"I was thinking that at first, but I never thought of Albus as someone who believed in predicting the future." Severus said. He had already confessed his part in that debacle but he hated the thought of it having anything to do with the torture that Lily and even James had to have lived with for the last twelve and a half years. "I think we are missing some piece of the puzzle."

"I think we need to plan this out." Croaker announced. When he had everyone's attention, he looked at the teenage Potter and said "I think we can all agree that getting the Potters out of this portal is the most important piece, but there is more to consider."

"Like what?" Draco rudely asked.

"The records according to Ragnok here state that there are Potter portraits, not one painting." Croaker said. He saw the boy at the center of the mess stop and then call out for his house elf.

A bit of questioning later had Dobby telling everyone that he had seen two paintings and neither were the one propped up against the wall. A discussion with the Malfoy elves had the whole room confused except for the unspeakable who grinned, Severus snapped "What has you so happy?"

"I think I know the ritual used to get them into the portal and the counter course, however we do still need the blood of their enemy spilled to free them, I am rather afraid..."

"But is it Voldemort's blood or the headmasters?" Hermione asked. When the room went still she said "I just can't help thinking that he is equally an enemy of the Potters if he confined them to this painting/portal while they were still alive. Plus, I think that it is important to figure out exactly why he did this."

"She is correct, but how?"

"We grab him, tie him up and pour veritiaserum down his throat until he confesses the truth." Harry said struggling with his pain as he fought hard against his anger.

"I only wish it were that easy but Albus Dumbledore is immune to the truth potion, Harry." Madam Bones said.

"Maybe Snape could invent something new that would work." Harry said looking at his other godfather.

"While I appreciate your faith, unfortunately all truth potions have the same base ingredients." Severus replied. "Otherwise, I would agree."

"Maybe..." Hermione went silent then bit her lip before tilting her head sideways and then hesitated yet again, this time drawing Harry's attention. When she noticed him looking she said "How about dosing him with nitrous oxide?"

"What is it and why?" Amelia asked only for Ted Tonks to stand and then turn to the young girl he had just met. He had known she was a muggleborn, but that someone so young knew of this drug had gotten his attention.

"It might work, but how are we going to get a hold of nitrous oxide and I am sure we have to be careful about administering it. So you not only need access to the drugs but someone who can make sure we don't overdose him." Not that Ted felt too guilty about doing so, but he really didn't want to end up in the middle of a murder investigation.

"What we need is a dental surgeon." Hermione replied with a wicked grin on her face. "What we need is one that would love a chance to take down the Headmaster a peg or two and I just happen to know two that would gladly volunteer."

"Hermione?" Harry had begun to get it and was fast losing his doom and gloom expression. "Would they?"

"Hey, Draco, when you visited my parents at the office, did they show you the machine with the mask and tell you never to touch it." She inquired.

"No, but then after that first day when your mom treated her patient without potions and he got her all bloody while screaming in pain, I sort of stayed as far away from that room as possible." He said shuddering in memory. Seeing his father looking at him, he said "Let's just say that when we got back to the house, I picked up my room and it sort of cured me of the need to rebel."

When his father's eyebrows rose, Draco tried to explain but Ted Tonks simply chuckled and told the Granger girl that they now had to figure out a way to get the headmaster to her parent's house.

"Oh, that won't be a problem. It's keeping the rest of the guests at Harry's party from noticing my father kidnapping him that will be." she blithely stated. When they all looked her way she rolled her eyes and said "Does any here really think that he doesn't already know about the party and have plans to crash it?"

"Okay, questioning Albus is taken care of. We just need to decide who from our side will do the questioning." Croaker replied.

"It will be me." Boudecia announced. "No one will miss me from the party, I would ask Severus to help, but I am afraid that in your present mood you just might end him."

"No, not until Lily is returned, Potter too." Severus said glaring at the painting of the couple. "Still, this only gets us the answers of verifying the portraits are connected to the portal, nothing more. We still need a plan to get them out of the portal and to do that we need the blood of Voldemort."

This had everyone quiet down before Harry asked. "Is that soul anchor the only way to get the wraith back to a body."

"Wraith?" Croaker asked looking at the teenager.

"Well, we haven't talked about it, but Voldemort is still in wraith form. At least I think he is." Harry replied.

"I think someone needs to tell me exactly what went on at that school during your first year and in the chamber, Mr. Potter." Croaker announced. "I would prefer to see it, if you don't mind using a pensive."

Harry agreed, then asked "How will this help my parents?"

"I need to see what this wraith looks like, how he exited his victim and anything else I can see. If we are going to succeed it might just be something simple that helps."

"Are we really considering bringing Voldemort back to life?" Augusta Longbottom asked sounding uneasy.

"No, we are talking about bringing back Tom Riddle." Minerva said as she looked at Boudecia then asked. "I think that the binding spell would work. We would have to get Narcissa up to speed to perform it as I am not so sure we can trust Griselda not to go to Albus."

"We need six, Minerva." Amelia said. "Myself, you, Boudacia, Augusta, and Narcissa only make five."

The older woman nodded and then said "I was counting Hermione."

"Is her magic up to this?" Amelia said. "Not withstanding what she did in my office, she is still growing."

"Hermione turns fifteen in September and spent most of her third year in possession of a time turner that allowed her to attend all of her classes." Minerva said. "Harry is the strongest in their class, but she is well above average. Neville and Draco are strong as well but we both know that girls mature faster than boys when it comes to their magical core."

Amelia looked at the new Vesta and then at her mentor and saw that Narcissa was nodding in agreement. "I am in agreement, but only if we wait until it is closer to her birthday."

"It will have to be." Croaker said. When they looked his way he stated "I am going to try and find it, but there is a ritual that requires the bone of the father, blood of the enemy and flesh of the servant to regain a body. If you witches are going to do what I think, it should be the night we perform the ritual."

"What do we do with him afterwards?" Lucius inquired. "We can't just let him walk around; stripped of magic or not."

"The ritual will only let him live mere minutes." Croaker said in rather flat tone. "It requires magic to keep the conscripted body alive. Once he is stripped of his magic, he will fall apart and the nice part, the wraith will cease to exist."

"I suggest that everyone take an oath of silence before we leave here tonight." The Goblin announced. He held up his wand and quickly offered his silence and then looking at the others announced "Mr. Potter, you should be aware, the contents of those baskets, need to stay in place. I know that it is going to be a struggle when you are close to them to reach out and touch what is there, but whatever you do, don't remove anything in them."

Harry nodded feeling numb as he looked at the man he had just realized was the Goblin's ruler. As the others began to leave after making similar vows, in the end it was only his godfathers, the Malfoys and Hermione in the room with him.

"Harry?"

Turning to Remus, Harry attempted a wan smile but his lips refused to cooperate. "I just...I hate him so much. It hurts not to go to wherever he is and just hurt him as badly as he has hurt my family."

"I know." Remus said touching his chest. "He took my pack away, Your parents, and then you. He cost me my best friend and so much more. The inner wolf wants to rip his throat out, but for now, it is more important to concentrate on returning your parents to you."

His right hand entwined with Hermione's, Harry used his left to reach across to Remus and then he said "I told Narcissa that we were a rather oddly structured family but a family none the less and I meant it. I want my parents back but I won't let my behavior place anyone else at risk. I can't."

"None of us will." Sirius said resting his hand on the back of Harry's neck. "Now, you aren't going to like what I am going to say next, but you will obey me. I want you to take a dreamless sleep potion and go to bed."

When Harry started to protest, Sirius pulled him close and said "We will put the portrait in your room so that you may keep it close, but Harry, you will be of no help if you are not well rested. Please, for your parents, listen to me."

Harry had already capitulated and was reaching for the potion Snape was offering. He gave the older wizard a weird look, a bit discombobulated that he had just happened to have the potion in his robes. "What about Hermione?"

"I am going to take her home and speak to her parents." Remus stated only for Narcissa to say that it would be best if she did it. "We need to speak to them about our plan."

"Yes, but we aren't going to spring this on them at almost ten o'clock, Remus." She replied. "Now, I suggest that all of us head up to bed early. The teens have Neville's party tomorrow and I am sure that there are many moving parts to this plan that have to be attended to very quickly."

With that, she exited the ballroom with Hermione who had given Harry a quick hug and promised to look through her books to see what she could find. He returned the hug and when she had left, took the potion and went to his room where he found the portrait already leaning against the nearby wall thanks to the house elves.

Sitting on the floor in front of it, he said "Hi Mom, Dad. I guess you know that I am your son. I just wanted to let you know, we will find a way to get you out of that portal."

Standing, he said "I promised to take the potions, so I will talk to you in the morning. I can't wait until we can actually speak back and forth, I really have a ton of questions."

Harry changed into his pajama shorts, took the potion and settled into his bed, his eyes on the painting of his parents, unaware that they had heard every single word he had said and were crying behind the paint.

VESTA

Draco went to his room, stunned at all they had learned. He had looked at what was in the baskets, clothes, a wand in each and to his surprise some rings and a book of photos. His father had placed a protective ward over it then sent him to bed.

He hesitated outside of Harry's room, but hearing him talking to his parents, he continued down the opposite corridor to his own and couldn't help thinking of all the times he had envied Harry for something. Now that he actually knew the other boy, he realized that he wouldn't want Harry's life for anything.

Settling into bed, he found he was restless and then looking around to make sure no one saw, he climbed out of bed, went to the back of his closet and pulled out his by now lumpy and bedraggled favorite stuffed dragon.

Sliding back into bed, he tucked Zeus in beside him and wrapping his arms around it, fell asleep, grateful for the comfort he still found from him.

VESTA

In the ballroom, Severus looked at Sirius and said "You were in a rage even before you entered the room."

Sirius sat down on the conjured chair and leaning forward buried his head between his legs to regain control. Once he had it, he told them his secret.

"Since escaping Azkaban, I have had severe back pains. Back issues that only ease when I am Padfoot." He said. "While hiding in the Azores, I found a way to ease them, using a muggle technique since at the time I couldn't use magical means. When I was freed, I went to St. Mungos. The healer I spoke to said that at most they could give me pain potions but that there was nothing she could do for me."

"I asked for a second opinion, there was a muggleborn doctor who caught me as I was leaving after another healer, also a pureblood said that I would just have to take the potions. She and her husband are in private practice and combine muggle and magical treatments. She is also something called a chiropractor, they use massage to treat spinal issues connected to our brain reactors whatever that means, but what is most important is that it helps, immensely."

When no one said anything, Sirius continued to speak. "I see her three times a week and when she isn't available her husband works to realign my back. It has done wonders and it allows me to sleep and move without pain. Today we met at the house on Grimmauld Place and I used that meeting to see if I was right about Albus having me watched."

"I am gathering he was." Severus asked.

"Yes, by Dung Fletcher who when he reported to the Headmaster helped himself to a few of the silver instruments in his office, my guess with the intent to sell them." Sirius said. "They entered my house and triggered the burglar alarm that the goblins put in place. Unfortunately they interrupted my session so I expected to have a bad evening, but I think that I will be in with Harry, in case he does."

"I understand that need." Severus said shaking his head, knowing he would be having a few nightmares himself. "Why were you so angry if you were setting him up to be caught?"

"Albus was once again embarrassed by his lack of clothes." Sirius said. "It ballooned from there into an argument regarding Harry that I am sure right now the headmaster is regretting because he let his over sized ego give away more than he expected."

Pulling the letter out of his pocket, Sirius hesitated then handed it to Lucius. "Turns out he was intercepting my mail while I was staying with the Potters."

Lucius read the letter, his rage almost imploding as he read his wife's desperate pleas for help from her cousin. "You just got this."

"Yes, what is worse is the rest of the story." He said sounding drained. "Dobby was answerable to me the minute my grandfather died, not the family, however Albus also kept me from getting the news of my inheritance. The Black family magic couldn't fulfill it's new connection to me, its why until I placed the ring on, I had no idea how much he had interfered. Now, knowing that he had prevented Dobby from locating me, prevented me from invoking the family magic, that he did so and then when we were talking today made it sound like I should be grateful for what he did..."

"I was angry already but after speaking to Dobby...I also learned his elf magic had located Harry and already considered him his new master, it's why he saved him two years ago." Sirius said. "After speaking to Dobby and knowing I had to find out what happened before talking to Narcissa and yourself, I went to see Bellatrix."

"Well that explains the rage." Severus quipped with a sad shake of his head.

"It's more than that. When I heard her reasoning for going along with this, how deluded she is regarding her master and her role in his life, it sickened me. She also swore revenge against you, Lucius."

"She did that when I killed her father." He replied.

"Walburgha?"

"I only wish." Lucius replied in an icy tone. "She locked herself behind the wards and I couldn't get to her."

"Which is rather strange, considering that the wards belonged to me." Sirius said then tensing up gave him the rest of the news. "She wanted me to end her marriage, I refused which had her sprouting threats as I left. I am thinking, the ritual we need to perform, flesh of the servant."

"Are you insane?" Remus asked as he sat up and glared at his oldest friend. "We would need her free and frankly I can't think of anyone I would prefer to keep locked up more than Bellatrix."

"He is right." When the four wizards turned, Narcissa went to sit next to her husband and said "I think I know someone who would willingly agree to do this if we promise to kill him afterwards."

"Who?"

"Rabastan Lestrange." She answered. When she saw their rejection to her thought, she filled them in on what she had learned. "He blames himself for what happened to the Longbottoms. I know from when Andromeda looked at his memories, he wants death. It would be a release for him."

"We should talk about this some more, later on. Right now, we all need to at least pretend to try to sleep." Severus said as he stood. "Sirius, be careful, Albus is a wounded animal right now, how he attacked you is proof of that."

"I don't think you should go back to the school until we have already finished this, Severus." Remus stated.

"No, I have to go back. He would never suspect me if he were to find the portal gone." Severus replied. "I also need to be seen complaining about Harry escaping some more. I already did so to Filius at dinner and had a loud rant about it in front of Pomona Sprout with Hooch. We need me at the school, if for no other reason than to back up Minerva."

With that, he exited the house and Remus stood to do the same.

"We have plenty of guest rooms." Narcissa pointed out only to notice the slight flush of his skin. "Of course, I am rather sure that my niece is uh, rather eager to offer comfort at your time of need."

Remus quickly left and when Sirius let the event go without speaking or even a smile, Lucius and his wife exchanged concerned glances before she moved towards him. "Don't blame yourself, Sirius."

"For what? What happened to you, what happened to Harry? There is a whole long list of times where my impulsive actions added to this mess." He bitterly retorted.

"You can't go back and change the past, we can only go forward." She replied. "I have healed, Sirius. It took facing it, but I am past what happened. I have a husband I love, a son I adore and am regaining my family. You owe me nothing. You owe it to yourself and to that young man upstairs to move past this and work towards a brighter future."

Pressing a kiss to his cheek, amused at his shock, Narcissa said "Sirius, one person created this mess but to fix this it is going to take all of us. When it is over, then we get revenge, Black style."

"Vendetta?" He asked with a slight smirk. "Really?"

"We only need four and once we have James back, we have the required set." She answered. "Go to Harry, comfort him."

Sirius changed into Padfoot and loped up the stairs towards his godson's room. Once he was out of sight, Narcissa turned to her husband and her smile faded as she said "Dumbledore is going to die."

"I agree, but it will not be easy." He said.

"I never told you but I think I saw Lily Potter when I was at my initiation. She told me about Pettigrew, the thing is I am rather curious. She referred to her son in the past tense, I took that to being because she was dead, but what if it wasn't? I am going to speak to Boudacia. I think that there is a connection between her and myself. I think that mother to mother, I might be able to reach her on this other plane she is stuck on." Narcissa said.

Lucius nodded, his mind reeling from all that had happened. "You know, I fear that when the truth is exposed, the mythos that surrounds Albus Dumbledore is going to come crashing down and there is going to be a power vacuum."

"Please, let someone else step in." She requested as they called for Tipsy and had her take the two baskets to Harry's room. Heading towards their bedroom, she realized he hadn't answered her plea.

When he saw her eyes on him, he chuckled and said "I know my limitations my dear and that I like power just a little too much. I was thinking... what about Arthur Weasley for Minister."

"Lucius, have you lost your mind?" She inquired as she stopped outside Draco's door to check on their son. Noticing the slight hint of purple and green scales, she moved closer and tucked the blankets around their son a bit before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Did you know he still had Zeus?" Lucius asked with a soft lilt to his voice as he took in his teenage son's arms wrapped tightly around a present he had bought him years ago, when brooms and expensive games weren't even a thought.

"Ssh." she said and once they were outside replied "Yes, he has kept him hidden in the back of his closet since he went to Hogwarts. I pretend not to have seen him."

"Its good to know he isn't growing up completely." Lucius said with heavy sigh as they entered their room. "Narcissa, how are you with things, really?"

"Like I said, Dumbledore is going down. Hard." She answered as she went to freshen up and go to bed. Soon tucked in beside her husband, she pressed a kiss to his bare chest then resting her head on his shoulder whispered "I love you, you know."

"I love you too." He replied only to wrap her up in his arm and drift off to sleep himself.

VESTA

At the Granger residence a certain fourteen year old found herself sitting in the window seat of her mother's conservatory, petting her cat as she tried to deal with the changes that evening had created.

"Hermione?" Looking at her mom standing in the doorway wearing her bathrobe over her nightclothes had the teenager realizing it was very late at night. "Sweetie what is? I haven't found you sitting in here once since you returned from school this year."

Jean Granger settled in next to her daughter which disturbed Crookshanks who took off towards the house and asked. "Is everything alright with Harry? Did you two have a fight? You do know that it is perfectly normal to have simple arguments with your boyfriend."

"It's not Harry, at least we aren't arguing or anything." Hermione said as she leaned against the cool glass and felt her lips turn down into a frown. "It's just, that when things seem to be settling into a happier pattern for him, something else has to happen that tears him apart. I can't help feeling as if the fates keep throwing bad thing after bad thing at him. It is all that I can do not to scream sometimes at what he has endured."

When she realized her mother had no idea what she was talking about, Hermione filled her in on the latest revelation then said "It isn't fair. Do you remember when Professor McGonagall told you about my being petrified by a monster at school?"

"Yes, something about a potion that released you a bit later." Jean said as she recalled how angry her husband and she had been and how they had talked about removing her from Hogwarts.

They had only agreed to let her return for her third year because they had at the time believed it had been mere hours. It was only recently while eavesdropping on Hermione and Harry that they had realized she had been petrified for weeks.

"What I didn't tell you...it was longer than I led you to believe." She softly admitted. Seeing her mom wasn't surprised, she asked why.

"I heard Harry and yourself talking about this. We have also figured out that there is more you haven't told us about. Things that would make us want to have you return to regular schooling. If it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey speaking to us about things I am not so sure your father would have let you return for school this year."

"Oh Merlin." Hermione said as she bit her lip then knowing she needed to talk to someone, and that it couldn't be Harry or even her mentor as Narcissa still had a sense of guilt at what her husband had done. Looking at her mom she said "I need to tell you something."

"Penny Clearwater and I were using a mirror to check around a corner when we saw the snake in it. I saw large golden colored eyes and then that was the last thing I recalled until I was being levitated to the infirmary. I had regular sleep cycles mom, I wasn't unconscious the entire time."

When she saw her mom looked confused, she said "It was like being a statue, unable to move but aware of what was going on around me. I could hear people talking, could think and when I first woke up, kept screaming for someone to help me. Nothing worked."

"Oh my dear..." Hermoine let her mom comfort her, knowing that it was equally important to her mom as it was to her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared, terrified but then around lunchtime and then after dinner I would hear a voice telling me about the lessons I missed and anything else going on in Hogwarts. I would hear Harry. He would come and see me every single day. A few times Ron would come with him, but most of the time, it was Harry who would stay until Madam Pomfrey's niece would kick him out of the infirmary."

"Was that when you started to develop feelings for him?" She asked.

Blushing a bit, she said "No, it was a year earlier during another adventure we had. His visiting me made me feel as if I hadn't been forgotten. My roommates would stop in for a few minutes every few days, the Weasley twins did as well, though that was mainly to beg me to wake up. They kept threatening to prank the world if I didn't wake."

Hermione chuckled for a moment as she recalled the strange visit from the equally strange twins. "The thing is, even after I was awoken, I kept having nightmares of being stuck in stone, forgotten by the world. Its the real reason I went to speak to your friend at the hospital. It had nothing to do with dealing with having been bullied. I told her it was a nightmare, since I couldn't tell her the truth, but it helped, a lot."

"You should have told us, Hermione." Her mother said as she hugged her little girl. "We might not understand this world you seem to love so much, but you are still our little girl and we will always love you."

"I know that Mom. I just was scared you would not let me go back, but in spite of everything, the prejudice, the monsters and the Headmaster I now loath, there are so many wonderful things in this world. I have made some great friends, I have Harry and now, this Vesta appointment. I have come to love this world." She said biting her lip. "I wish you could share more of it with me. It's why I asked to host Harry's birthday party here, it lets me show you my world and show the magical world my muggle side."

The two Granger women sat there, curled up against one another for a long time, then as if of one mind, they stood and wandered towards the main house. Separating at the doorway to Hermione's bedroom, her mother reached out and straightening her daughter's curls, said "I love you."

"I love you too." Hermione replied as she went to curl up in her bed. Finding Crookshanks already curled up on the pillow, she laughed as the part kneazle purred loudly then moved to her side. "I love you too, you furball."

VESTA

The Hogwarts Headmaster had an uneasy feeling but believed it to be the result of the loss of the monitoring devices. As he prepared for bed, he thought about his day and the news from both Severus and Arthur that Harry had been seen at the Ministry.

Arthur had unfortunately admitted to distracting Severus in regards to keeping track of the boy thanks to Delores Umbridge's attack. Now that he knew Harry was in London, Albus was determined to locate the boy. He had hoped to send him to the Weasley residence, but now, he was concerned that that wasn't far enough away from Sirius Black.

He did believe that he had proven his point to the younger wizard, but he still didn't trust him not to interfere with his plans for young Harry. He had had some very exciting plans for the upcoming school year, things that he had hoped would allow him to discover just how strong magically the boy was.

Still, it didn't matter, he had a way to keep things under his control, thanks to the prophecy that was locked away in the Department of Mysteries. With a sigh, Albus looked at the wand sitting on his nightstand and reminded himself that that wouldn't have allowed his ownership if he hadn't been deserving.

After all he was the leader of the light, the guardian of his world and most importantly the person to lead it into the future. All he had to do was track down an errant teenager and thanks to Molly Weasley he knew EXACTLY were the boy would be in two days.

VESTA

In the Department of Mysteries, Croaker was speaking to two others then after they were in agreement, he stated "It should be tonight."

"Agreed." The trio separated and went to the appropriate stations then placing their hands on the runes engraved in the wall, set their long delayed plan to take down Albus Dumbledore into motion.

VESTA

On the main floor of the Ministry, the few scattered employees felt the ground trembling and all rushed to the main lobby and began to ask what was that.

A few minutes later, an auror arrive and said "Whatever happened it was in the Department of Mysteries. Croaker is sending out a call for the Minister and Dumbledore along with my boss."

Floo powder was tossed in and a few minutes later, Fudge wearing lime green pajamas and slipper entered the corridor from which he could smell the rancid odor of smoke. His guards covered their noses and were muttering among themselves. Dumbledore soon joined them along with Amelia Bones who was clearly not in a good mood as she demanded to know what happened.

"I fear that there was an accident in my department." Croaker announced as he appeared wearing his slate gray robes. "If you will follow me."

The trio did and when they arrived in the Hall of Prophecies, he waved his hand towards the mess that was still smoldering and said "It appears that an entire set of shelves of fulfilled prophecies crashed and caught fire. We are preparing a list as we speak."

"How do you know that they were fulfilled prophecies?" Amelia inquired.

Moving towards the spheres, Croaker prevented Auror Yaxley from touching it, "If it is unfulfilled and isn't about you and you touch it, it will drive you insane. Now, see how the sphere is clear or milky colored. That means it is an unfulfilled prophecy. Once it has been fulfilled, like..."

Moving towards a shelf with a sphere that was blackened, he lifted the ball like item and showed it to the others. "When the prophecy has been declared fulfilled by fate such as this one it turns black. Now this one was fulfilled on October 31, 1981. This is the sphere of the prophecy regarding Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort aka Tom Riddle."

He saw the startled expression on Dumbledore's face and made a note of the angry one on Yaxleys. He saw that Bones had been watching as well and knew that by the end of the next day, Mr. Yaxley would no longer be employed at the Ministry.

"I was unaware that there was a prophecy regarding that event." Fudge announced in as solemn a tone as he could manage at learning something of the secrets of this department.

"Yes, there was, as I am sure that the Chief Warlock could verify as it was told to him." Croaker said showing them the other side of the sphere. "As you see it was told to him by someone with the initials SPT."

Yaxley and the rest soon exited the department and Amelia took advantage of the opportunity to suggest that she had a potential vacancy knowing that the ambitious wizard would be thrilled to be promoted to the empty head auror spot. Too bad, she was going to arrest him.

Getting his agreement to an interview the next day, she waited until he left and then sent out an owl to Moody. Locating Fudge who was demanding answers from the Headmaster as to why he had not told anyone about the fulfilled prophecy regarding Potter, she suggested that they head to bed that they would all have a busy day tomorrow.

VESTA

Once Dumbledore returned to his quarters, he sank into his chair and sat there, stunned at the information he had been given. He had always believed that the prophecy had been false but had used it to gain his own goals. Now, it had turned black, thereby no longer being of any use.

He couldn't help wondering what it meant for the future. He knew that Riddle was still out there, that he had created horcruxes that needed to be destroyed including the one in Harry. Still did this mean that he didn't have to wait and could defeat Riddle himself, that he didn't have to deal with chasing down that errant little kid who didn't seem to show him the respect he deserved?

Deciding to be safe rather than sorry, Albus vowed to make sure that Harry Potter was kept protected until he had need of him. After all, legally he was still his magical guardian.

Morning came and the various factions began their day while others ended their very long but successful evenings.

Croaker and his coworkers were drinking fire whiskey and toasting each other at having successfully fooled Albus Dumbledore into thinking that his hand delivered prophecy had been fulfilled.

In truth, an expert had created a blank sphere and had copied the names and dates on the real sphere. It was still on a shelf, someplace deep in the bowels of the building, still being looked at because they believed it had not been a true prophecy but one that the Headmaster for some reason was turning into a self fulfilling one.

As they exited the department, Croaker paid a visit to a nearby room, removed what he was going to need and then joined the others in the lift. Once there, he said "Now that the first part has succeeded, time to begin the second. Dealing with his total control over Hogwarts."

VESTA

Yaxley was early to work for the first time in years, his chest puffed out as he mentally let the title of Head Auror roll across his lips. His master would be so proud when he returned.

Arriving at the office of the woman he planned to kill and replace once his current position was secure, he nodded and took his seat. After some questioning in which he felt he answered acceptably, he could almost taste the power when she said that there were a few secrets he needed to be made privy to if he were to take the promotion.

Yaxley's brain was so full of the power almost in his hands that he never noticed that Alastor Moody was in the auror training center when Bones took him there for a tour.

A boring half hour later, he heard her talking to the insane trainer who decided to join them uninvited on the rest of their tour. His pleasure now lessened, Yaxley struggled to pay attention to Bones and never realized that they had entered the holding cells.

"We have secretly been making upgrades to the cells. Moody, perhaps you would care to demonstrate." Bones suggested only for the infamously paranoid auror to refuse.

Curious about these changes, knowing he would have to tell his master, Yaxley rolled his eyes and supremely confident that he was beyond suspicion, the death eater stepped into the cell.

When he felt the drain on his magic, he looked at Bones and said with a small grin. "Magic suppression charms have been added?"

"Not to all cells, just certain ones. Ones to hold potential death eaters." She replied with a glare growing on her face. She began to walk away and could hear Yaxley coaxing Moody to let him out of the cell.

"Com'n Moody, the joke is over. Now let me out." Yaxley said annoyed and thinking his first duty was going to be to find a way to get this old fossil either killed or at least permanently returned.

"Now, letting you out would defeat the purpose, death eater." Moody said with a grin on his face that had Yaxley's heart racing. When the auror began to walk away, Yaxley snarled and went to pull his wand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Moody said with a slight chuckle to his voice. Yaxley was furious with this bastard so pointing his wand at the visible ward, he started to send a reducto curse at it.

Nothing happened then recalling that he was in a magic suppression cell, he snapped. "Moody I am serious, let me out of here immediately."

Watched as the auror thumped his way back, Yaxley saw that he was unfolding a piece of parchment which he pushed into the cell and was told to read it.

Yaxley opened the parchment and his eyes went wide as he realized he was reading an arrest warrant with his name on it. The crime was being a death eater and to his shock, it listed several crimes that he knew he had committed in the muggle world. "What is this crap."

"Your arrest warrant. You should know for future reference, the muggle world has many, many new ways of detecting crime. Last night, Amelia removed a sample of your blood to send to the muggles. That list of deaths, your magic and blood is all over them. Oh, in case you didn't realize, the job offer was simply a ruze to get you in this cell. Have a nice day, Death Eater."

VESTA

At Hogwarts, Albus had tried to speak to his people only to be told by Minerva that she had a busy day and would speak to him later, Filius had informed him that he had been called to a meeting at Gringotts regarding an unknown issue and Severus had been brewing potions that morning.

When the potion master joined him at breakfast, Albus realized that the man was as bad tempered as he had ever been. "Everything alright, Severus?"

"It's fine. Was there something you needed as I am rather behind in brewing potions for Poppy." He snapped.

"I was rather interested in knowing if I would need to hire a new potions' professor as Minerva mentioned that you had a meeting at Gringotts regarding a job." He probed knowing that there was no way that Severus would leave Hogwarts.

"No, I will be here this upcoming term, just like usual. If you must know, the Goblins were looking to me for a name of a potential potions staffer to pair with a cursebreaker." He replied then standing said "I have to get back to brewing."

"You haven't had any breakfast." Albus stated.

"I don't have time." Severus replied and once the other wizard had left, Albus frowned at his short tempered attitude.

"Headmaster, we have located some of those brownies you liked so much." The head house elf announced as he sat the large plate down right in front of the man.

"It appears as if I will be dining along. Why don't you deliver the brownies and my usual breakfast to my office." He replied as he saw some of his lesser professors entering the great hall, all talking about the events at the Ministry the day before.

"I always knew Delores Umbridge was insane, but attacking the Potter boy, clearly she needs time in St. Mungos." Sinestra was saying as she sat down in her usual spot. "Oh, good morning Headmaster. Will you be joining us today?"

"No, I fear that I am rather busy this morning. Enjoy breaking your fast ladies." He announced as he exited the Great Hall and returned to his tower to do some work before the afternoon visit to the Ministry.

VESTA

At the Malfoy residence, the two teenagers had prepared their gifts for Neville and were finishing up the last of the transfiguration school work that they had been working on, under the supervision of Remus Lupin.

"I just don't get why Hermione didn't have to be here." Draco said as he handed over the last of his written revising assignments.

"Because Hermione Granger does her homework correct the first time, doesn't need to be reminded to practice and other than being a bit over eager to be perfect does well in school." Remus said and noticed the smile on Harry's face. "I see you seem in a better mood this morning."

"I am." He said not telling his godfather he had spent an hour that morning telling his parents about his summer. He wasn't sure that they could hear him, but he wasn't taking any chances. "I have had to do the impossible for the last three years, this time it is something that give me back my parents. I won't allow myself to fail."

"You aren't in this alone, Harry." Remus reminded him gently.

Harry looked at one of his father's oldest friends and grinned and said "That is why I know this won't fail. I have all of you, plus the great research ability of one Hermione Jane Granger."

"If this wasn't so important, I would tell you that you are extremely nauseating, Harry." Draco said as he went to change his clothes.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"To change into an appropriate outfit." Draco said looking at Harry's jeans and t-shirt. "You might want to consider doing so as well."

"We can't wear robes in the muggle world, Draco." He replied.

"No, but Aunt Andromeda and my mother arranged for appropriate muggle wear. Something called khakis and a polo shirt. To be worn with those trainer things you used to wear." He replied with a wrinkled up nose. "The ones she left with me were the least gaudy pair she could find and they were still green and white with writing all over them."

Harry rolled his eyes at the other wizard and said "You are such a prissy wizard, Malfoy. Seriously, you spend more time on how you look than any girl I know."

"He can't help it, you know. It's a family trait." The dark haired wizard standing in the doorway announced. Severus moved in to stand close to Harry and said "Now try to be understanding, Harry, after all Draco was raised by Lucius who I assure you has never passed a mirror without looking at himself in it."

"Both you boys get moving and Harry, wish Neville a happy birthday from me too." Remus said as the two teenagers left the classroom taunting each other in a more playful manner than they ever would have at school. "What brings you here, I thought you were spending the day at Hogwarts."

"If Albus were to check, I am gathering supplies in the forbidden forest." Severus said as he settled into the chair that Draco had been seated in. "I had an idea and need you to talk to the Grangers for me."

"Is this about Hermione's suggestion of using muggle truth serum?" Remus asked.

"I looked, she is correct that nitrous oxide would relax the manipulative, bastard there is however no guarantee that it will make him tell the truth. There is something called sodium pentothal that will. I sort of have some." Severus said. Noticing the surprised expression on Lupin's face. "Don't ask if you don't want to be told."

"Fine, but what do you need from me?" He inquired.

"I can't risk being seen with the Grangers and I am sure that the Headmaster has them being watched. I need to have whichever one is more proficient with muggle drugs brought to me here. I need to question them as to how much and what how long it will last." Severus replied.

"I am going there while the children are in Richmond." He replied.

"Who is attending as watchers?" Severus asked.

"Andromeda, Ted, Augusta Longbottom will be there of course and I believe that Narcissa is also attending." Remus said then after a moment, said "I believe that there is only going to be eight children."

"Neville, Harry, Hermione, Draco, the Lovegood girl, who else?" Severus asked.

"The Nott boy, which was a bit of a surprise."

"No, Theodore has a big interest in Herbology like the Longbottom boy. I know that his father had encouraged his interests." Severus replied.

"Okay, well I have heard that Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones are also to attend." Remus replied as they heard Lucius and Narcissa entering the room. Noticing how Lucius was dressed, he felt his jaw drop at the same time as he noticed Severus struggling not to laugh. "I gather you are attending the birthday party?"

Tugging at the pants, scowling at Severus who chuckled again, he said "Why do muggles insist on wearing these so tight, are they that less endowed that this is comfortable for them."

"I don't know, I never asked." Severus said with a smirk on his face as he took in the shortened blond hair. "Seriously, Lucius, I believe that what you are doing right now, shows a serious lack of good breeding."

"Bugger off, Snape." He replied as he finally got comfortable in the clothes. "Narcissa, are you sure dressing like this is necessary?"

"It won't kill you, Lucius." She absentmindedly replied. Looking at the two wizards, she asked "Do you know where Sirius went so fast this morning?"

"We were discussing the ritual needed and he suddenly stood and rushed off telling us he would explain later." Remus replied.

"I spoke to the Grangers, we are going to their house to pick up Ms. Granger and then are apparating to that castle, it was pre-arranged with the Department of Magical Cooperation. It seems as if Cedric Diggory was invited and his father paid Augusta a visit this morning."

Harry and Draco returned, Harry trying to fix his hair and Draco frowning at his sneakers and asking why they had the name Nike all over them.

"its the brand name, Draco. Sort of like Nimbus or Cleansweep." Harry replied as he gave up on his hair when Narcissa simply pulled out her wand and dealt with it. "Besides, no one will notice what is on your feet."

"Not when they get a look at your sneakers, they won't." Draco said. "Who is this Air Jordan and why is Nike wearing his shoes."

"Let's go, I am sure that Hermione will be very glad to tell you all about them." Harry said with a wicked smile on his face. Looking at Remus he said "I told them I am going to Neville's party. You should talk to them."

"I will." He said as he watched with a bittersweet smile on his face as Severus seemed stunned at the news of Harry talking to the portal. "He thinks that they hear him. I have to go."

"Let me know what the Grangers think." He replied as he took out his small potion's notebook and made notes of potential changes to his experiment.

Those leaving for the party were in the front hall when Remus arrived. Soon at the Granger house, he listened as Harry had a tug of war contest regarding carrying Hermione's gift for the other boy. "Harry, I am perfectly capable of carrying my gift, besides, you are the one with floo issues."

The teenager who had been about to go through the floo, stopped then handed her his present to carry as well, said "Good point, here I will go though and then you can pass the gifts through to me."

The general laughter this created had Hermione grinning at her boyfriend who promptly stepped through the fireplace only to hear him let out a sharp grunt at the other end. "Harry?"

"I'm fine." He was saying. When he took the gift bags she was handing him, he stepped back as she came though, only to have Augusta Longbottom using a cleaning charm to remove soot off them.

When the Malfoy's arrived, there was some strange looks from the Hufflepuffs but that ended when Neville came down and was greeted by his guests.

"Hey, Harry, Hermione. Draco, that pen you dad gave me is great. I have been using it to map my garden. It's so much easier to change between colors with it."

"I am glad it is working for you, Mr. Longbottom." Lucius announced. Looking at Augusta, he asked "Are we missing anyone?"

"No, the Lovegood girl is talking to Mr. Nott and Ms. Tonks in the garden. I have arranged for us to portkey from there." Augusta announced as they entered the house.

Harry and the latest arrivals were telling Neville happy birthday and asking about his morning when they came to the group already gathered. Narcissa greeted her sister and then her niece before getting a good look at the Lovegood girl.

She was dressed in muggle pants that didn't quite come to her shins and a pale green sleeveless linen shirt and white canvas trainers. When Narcissa was about to speak to her about the pants being too short, she heard Hermione greeting the young blond.

"Hi, Luna. I am Hermoine Granger, nice pedal pusher pants. I considered wearing mine, but my mom insisted on bermuda shorts." She cheerfully announced to the girl she had never met.

"Hello Hermione Granger, I have often wanted to meet you." The girl replied as she looked around the group of people. "Congratulations on being a Vesta, the Vesta council made a good choice. Your aura is strong."

After a quick discussion between the adults, Augusta announced "A slight change in plans. It seems as if some of the of age wizards have already been to the palace and to the room we were to portkey into. So half of us will be portkeying there and the other half will apparate."

The two groups gathered as directed and began their journey to Hampton Court in Richmond, but back at the Granger residence in Crawley, after Hermione's mother confirmed that things were well in hand for Harry's party, they all sat down so that Remus could fill them in on the latest news.

When Remus finished filling them in on the latest mess, Jean said "Hermione spoke to me last night, I talked to my husband this morning and he is going to help you. You should know, I am all for this, but fear that the drug my daughter mentioned won't do as you hope."

"Well earlier this morning, our potions master realized that when reading up on what this nitrous oxide does. He has something called Sodium Pentothal in mind." Remus said.

"Unfortunately, that is a severely controlled substance. To get a hold of some, impossible." The dentist announced.

"I am not sure how, but he had already acquired some." Remus said.

There was a not so nice smirk on the not so mind mannered dentist's face as he said "Well, that will definitely make things easier. I have had some experience with it, during my time in the service. When does he want to do this?"

"We figure that he will crash Harry's birthday party tomorrow and we were thinking it is the perfect time." Remus suggested.

"Not happening." When Dan Granger looked over at Remus he said "While I am more than willing to help, I have spent the last three years basically segregated from my daughter who had always been very much a daddy's girl and I am going to be here tomorrow to meet her friends and to see more of this wondrous world she lives in. I am free today and will be all evening then again later in the week, but tomorrow, even for Harry, I am not going to miss this."

"I suggest we speak to Severus, find out what time would work best for all concerned. Would you mind going back to the Malfoy residence with me for a bit?" Remus asked.

Jean Granger said "I am coming too."

The three went to the fireplace and then Remus realized that it might be better to bring them through one at a time. He took Jean though and sent her to where Severus was to be then went to get her husband.

As they arrived in the classroom, they stopped in the doorway amused at the sight in front of them. Severus Snape was fast asleep, the chair tilted back and every few seconds, a familiar looking house elf would lift up an eye lid and ask if Harry Potters potions godfather was still alive.

"Dobby?" Remus called out a bit worried about how the Grangers would react to a house elf until he recalled that they had seen several of the Malfoy house elves. "What are you doing? Is something wrong with Severus?"

"Dobby's be a bad elf, I's trying to practice putting the gray bearded one to sleeps, but grumpy wizards not waking up." Dobby said, his ears lowered with a slight trembling.

"Dobby, did you practice on Severus?" Remus asked.

"Nos, nots without Master Harry Potters permission." Dobby announced. "I's simply tries waking up already grumpy wizards to practice."

"Dobby, why would you want to put him to sleep?" Dan Granger asked.

Dobby looked at the two muggles and announced. "Hellos Harry Potters Miss Grangys parental figures. I's be wanting to put bad gray bearded one to sleep to take back Master Harry's property. Bad gray beard has wards."

"Uh, Dobby for now until we have talked to Harry, let's not do that." Remus said with wide eyes. Looking at Severus, he winced at the potentially bullocking he was about to receive, but he needed to wake up sleeping beauty.

Holding his wand out from a few feet away from Severus, he was about to used the augamenti spell when his wand flew from his and and to the not so asleep wizard. "We thought you were asleep."

"Obviously, you were incorrect." Severus said as he straightened his chair and closed his book. Looking at the Grangers, he narrowed his eyes as Remus began to explain why the Grangers were there. "I have an idea. Remus what time are the kids returning?"

"Not until after dinner." Remus stated. Noticing the smile growing on Severus' face, he asked "What do you have in mind?"

"I would suggest you contact Boudacia Pomfrey, I have a great idea." He replied as he sat back down and then began to explain. The Granger's verified that it would work.

An owl was sent and an hour later, the five co-conspirators were gathered in an office with Minerva McGonagall who had agreed to help. Severus went to put the first step into motion while Boudacia and Minerva looked over the list of questions they wanted answers to.

When the potion master returned, the two witches exited the small office and went to confront a man who would have no control over his responses. The Grangers had prepared a second syringe before Severus walked to rejoin the ladies now that he was sure that the Headmaster was out of it.

TBC


End file.
